ENC 0025C
Joshua D. Fullwood Instructor
October 13, 2014
Essay #5
Title: Alcohol Drinking Age

The legal drinking age has been a continuously debated subject in the United States since its establishment. The national legal drinking age of twenty-one years old was placed in 1984 and still holds to the present, but many have begun questioning whether twenty-one is still an appropriate age for our current society. Much of this debate starts with college campuses and binge drinking. As a freshman in college, I began wondering if the drinking age is still suitable for present times, and if it should be altered. According to University of Michigan, approximately 80% of high school students have tried alcohol before graduating, and 60% have gotten drunk. With these statistics, it seems evident that the legal drinking age is not efficiently doing its job, and should be reviewed. So the question arises: Should the legal drinking age be changed?
Young adults under the age of twenty-one should not be allowed to drink for many reasons. One of the biggest debates on the drinking age is whether or not teens are mentally mature enough to drink by the time they turn eighteen. Most teens just drink to drink. They do not know when to stop. Unlike some adults, who would sit around and drink with friends to have a good time, teens sit around a table and have quite a few drinks, until they are completely hammered. This shows how irresponsible some teens can be. Some parents argue that when adolescents are not taught to drink in moderation, they end up binge drinking when they do consume alcohol. It is better to teach youth to learn how to drink responsibly and hold them accountable for their actions as we do with driving
Statistics show that 5,000 people, under the age of twenty-one die from underage drinking every year. A shocking 1,900 deaths are from drinking and driving. Teens think that it is just all fun and games because they are drinking and having a good time. They do not realize that when they are making the decision to drive after they drink, that innocent lives are being put in danger. Some of the deaths that are caused from poor choices, such as drinking and driving, take innocent human beings lives. Not only do teens make poor decisions about drinking and driving, but they also make poor decisions with the things they do.
The younger someone starts drinking the more likely they are to become addicted to alcohol when they get older. The legal drinking age should not be changed to eighteen is because drinking can lead to very severe addictions. Addictions can be caused by genes, mental illnesses, social environment, childhood trauma, or from an early use of drugs. Dr. Mark Willenbring says, "The kids most likely to