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Jules Cailliau
Prof Jackie
Engl 113A
November 9, 2015
Discussion About the Legal Drinking Age
In America people need to be 21 to have a beer, in Spain people
need to be 18 and in Belgium people can get one when youre 16. There
should become a worldwide rule about the minimum legal drinking age.
The first weird thing about the age of 21 in America is that people can do
everything when they are 18, except drink alcohol. Teens enter adulthood
when theyre 18, but technically they cant do everything yet. So they
need to increase the adulthood age, or lower the legal drinking age. Its
hard to understand that in some countries there is no age on the legal
drinking age and in some people need to wait until theyre 21 years old.
The legal drinking age needs to be the same all over the world so
everybody can explore alcohol at the same age and can enjoy it at the
same time.
Eighteen to twenty years old people who drink illegal alcohol are
drinking to get drunk. When they have the opportunity to get alcohol from
somewhere or from someone, they want to take advantage of it. Once
theyre in college, they start going to college parties. There, they always
have a big chance to try alcohol and to get drunk. Lower the drinking age
to 18 and then enforce the law. The current system, which forbids alcohol
to Americans under 21, is widely flouted, with disastrous consequences.
(Gonchar para 2) If teenagers were allowed to drink at the age of 18, far

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fewer people would be getting in trouble with the law. Since 18 is the age
many enter into college, it will be about the same time that many take
their first sip of alcohol as well. Though there is a fair share of drinking in
high school, the consumption of alcohol increases greatly once in college.
Being a college student myself, I know that a very large percentage of the
campus population engages in illegal consumption on a weekly basis. At
the same time, these young adults are getting in trouble with the law by
receiving Minor in Possessions or having their fake IDs confiscated. By
lowering the legal drinking age to 18, most college students would be
allowed to drink without the worries of getting caught. If they are old
enough to live on their own and take responsibility for their school career,
they should be responsible enough to drink. So they should lower the legal
drinking age so the students dont break the law. While these are all good
points, they aren't taking into consideration that there are more benefits.
One of the benefits of lowering the legal drinking age is the aid in
education of drinking related issues. Teaching people to drink responsibly
before they turn 21 would enormously enhance public health. Now, high
school and college kids view dangerous binge drinking as a rite of
passage. They want to have fun by having the best time they can have. If
they dont want to do it this easy there are other options, for example
incorporate a responsible drinking course into school programs that
would be comparable to sex education. This would focus, not only on
drunk driving, but also binge drinking, brain damage, the deleterious
health effects of alcohol abuse and how to drink in a responsible manner.
Also, there should be an alcohol license, much like a drivers license. You

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have to pass a test dealing with alcohol facts and stats when you are 18 in
order to drink. If you get arrested for any alcohol related offense you lose
this right until you turn 21. Because alcohol is still illegal for these 18-20
year old students, it stimulates them more to do something they cant do
according to the law. Many of these kids are away from home for the first
time, able to drink to their hearts content. Theyre able to do things
without being watched by their parents. That can be a really big problem.
Things are happening behind closed doors, its more dangerous because
all these young children or students arent supervised and a lot of them
dont know their limits. It should be better to lower the minimum legal
drinking age and keep an eye on the younger people! Here, in the US,
kids don't learn what effects alcohol has. Consumption of alcohol is
treated more liberally in Europe. When teenagers in a controlled
environment can taste mild alcohol, for example beer at an age of 13, they
will usually be put off by the lack of sweetness. Over some time, they may
begin to understand that adults like such a drink with food. Parents can
observe and influence their teenagers behavior during this time. In this
way alcohol is not an intense must try experience later on. When
teenagers are 16, many of them are likely to have a beer from time to
time. At that age, in Europe, they are not allowed to drive a car. When they
are 18, they are aware of the effects of alcohol. Even friends will remind
them. Lowering the legal drinking age would aid teens in education of
drinking related issues.
Not only would lowering the drinking age help teach teens of
drinking related issues, it would also be really good for the economy

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(Should the Drinking Age para 14). More people would legally be able
to drink in bars, restaurants, and other licensed establishments. Revenue
would increase for private business owners, and the government would
collect greater amounts of tax revenue. Its not only good for the places
where people can get alcohol, but also for taxi companies. Teens will start
using cabs because they know they can start drinking legally. Teens are
used to going to parties by car; once they are 21 they still go by car but
they can drink legally. This causes a dilemma for them and some will make
the wrong decision. Using the system by going to parties by taxi would be
a great opportunity to avoid car accidents with drunk drivers, but also for
the economy of the taxi companies. Also, another $2.4 billion would come
in from taxes on the additional purchases by adults between the ages of
18 21 (Griggs para 7). Economists say this is a good move for
decreasing our fast-growing national deficit. Its also a good thing to stop
the fake IDs on the black market and regain the control of this market.
Some weeks ago there was an article on the Internet from Brown
University anthropology professor, Dwight B. Heath (Griggs para 1). The
professor says he favors a lower drinking age. Heath is not advocating kids
getting drunk, instead he favors a cultural model which is common in
countries like France and Italy where parents serve small amounts of wine
to their children at family meals. In general, the younger people start to
drink the safer they are, said Heath. Alcohol has no mystique. Its no big
deal. By contrast, where its banned until age 21, theres something of the
forbidden fruit syndrome (Griggs para 3). By doing this, he says,
parents educate their kids about alcohol and rob drinking of its taboo

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allure, which can make rebellious teenagers sneak off to basements and
backwoods to binge drink far from adult supervision.
Lowering the legal drinking age would benefit many people. At the
age of 18 you are considered an adult and should be allowed to have an
alcoholic drink. Not only would lowering the legal drinking age help aid
teens in teaching them about drinking related issues, but it would also
boost our economy. They should just lower the minimum legal drinking age
and let the 18-20 year old people enjoy their youth, enjoy their college
time.
Lowering the legal drinking age has many benefits such as helping
to teach teens about drinking related issues and even boost our economy.
At the age of 18, you are considered an adult and should be allowed to
have an alcoholic drink. If the legal drinking age is lowered teens can try
alcohol and learn more about it from their parents instead of trying it for
the first time in college. They should just lower the minimum legal drinking
age and let the 18-20 year old people enjoy their youth, enjoy their college
time.

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Work Cited
Archer, Dale M.D. The Pros and Cons Of Drinking At 18. Reading
Between the (Head)Lines. Web. 9 Nov 2015.
Gonchar, Michael Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? The Learning
Network Web. 22 Nov. 2015
Griggs, Brandon Should the U.S. lower the drinking age? This story is
part of a series on the 30th anniversary of the National Minimum
Age Drinking Act, passed by Congress on July 17, 1984. Web. 11
Nov. 2015
Keller, Mark Alcohol consumption Encyclopedia Britannica Web. 10 Nov.
2015
Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered From 21 to a Younger Age?
Minimum Legal Drinking Age. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.