Imagine this; a 19-year-old young man decides to join the army and fight for his beautiful country and the citizens in it. He decides to put his life on the line many times in the war being a brave young man. When he gets to come home a few of his war friends and his wife, that he married just before he was drafted, all decide to go out together and have some drinks. This young man cannot legally sit with some friends and his wife to enjoy a drink because he is considered under age. This young man can put his life on the line for his country and get married but cannot legally sit down and enjoy an alcoholic beverage with some friends when he comes home. The legal drinking age of 21 in the United States is too high. This is true especially when considering everything else that can be done legally at the age of 18 like marriage, war, gambling, voting, and consumption and purchasing of tobacco products.

A baffling thing to think about is that in the United States of America at the age of 18 you can get married, vote, gamble, consume tobacco products, and go to war. One thing that you cannot do legally at the age of 18 is sit down and have an alcoholic beverage with friends. Purchasing or consuming alcohol before the age of 21 in the United States is against the law. If a person under the age of 21 were to be caught consuming or purchasing alcohol they would typically get a minor which will be put onto their legal record and could have consequences in their future. Having a minor on their record could interfere with receiving scholarships or jobs. Think about it like this, a person can go fight for our country and sacrifice their life for us, but it is considered illegal for them to sit and enjoy a drink with a friend before they go off to war. A couple can choose to get married but not legally drink at their wedding or celebrate with friends with alcohol.

If someone were to argue that alcohol consumption is too much of a life altering or unhealthy thing to allow for people under the age of 21, then why do we allow the purchase of tobacco products and gambling at the age of 18. Those two things can be just as addicting and unhealthy as the consumption of alcohol. "Cigarettes are not psychoactive, like alcohol (that is, they do not affect perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior), but they are very addictive" (Staff, par 8). Cigarettes and other tobacco products also cause just as many if not more health issues as alcohol. Excessive alcohol consumption may lead to liver difficulties, possible seizures, and a few different cancers. Smoking may cause lung cancer, asthma, bronchitis, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, weekend immune system, diabetes and more. Cigarettes also have more addictive chemicals which tend to increase the odds of these health issues occurring more than they would with alcohol consumption. So, if it is legal for an 18-year-old to consume and purchase tobacco products, what's the difference in health issues with consuming and purchasing alcohol products?

With the legal drinking age being 21 many underage people are consuming alcohol illegally. Underage people are being secretive about consuming it causing safety issues that could potentially be avoided. People who are not of the legal drinking age of 21 yet still consuming alcohol are drinking then walking or driving home. Many feel afraid to call for an uber or another ride because they don't want to get in trouble for drinking, so they make some bad decisions in order to stay out of trouble. Lower the drinking age would limit the attempted secretiveness of these now underage consumers making it safer for them as well as other people who may encounter them.

Overall, like everything else that can be done younger than the age of 21 in the United States, consuming and purchasing alcoholic beverages should be legal. If the legal drinking age were to be lowered to say 18, many young adults would be much safer because they wouldn't be as secretive. If someone can put their life on the line for their country, they should legally be allowed to consume alcoholic beverages with friends. If a person can decide to get married or vote on the leader of our country at the age of 18, they should be able to make good enough decisions about alcohol consumption. The legal drinking age should be lowered to increase the safety of our young adult population. It should be lowered because if a young person can go fight for our country, get married, and consume tobacco products legally, they should legally be allowed to enjoy and alcoholic beverage with some friends before putting their life on the line at war.

Resources

CDC, "Fact Sheets – Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age" Alcohol and Public Health, 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/minimum-legal-drinking-age.htm

Howard, "The countries where drinking is banned until 25 – or allowed at 13" CNN. 2019. https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/31/health/legal-drinking-age-world-explainer-parenting-intl/index.html

National Institutes of Health, "Should the drinking age be lowered from 21 to a lower age?" ProCon.org. 2017. https://drinkingage.procon.org/view.answers.php?questionID=001610

Staff, "Cigarettes vs. Alcohol: Comparing Physical, Psychological, and Social Harm" American Addiction Centers. 2017. https://deserthopetreatment.com/alcohol-abuse/ciga...

State of Minnesota, "2018 Minnesota Statutes" Minnesota Legislature. 2018. https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/340A.503