Alcohol And Substance Abuse And The National Minimum...

Since alcohol and substance abuse have come into play, along with health issues, and emotional issues in peoples lives, questions started to arise. One being the legal age to start drinking alcohol. The national minimum drinking age act was signed on July 17th, 1984 to the law, with the drinking age at minimum being 21 (Archer M.D.). An adult is any person who’s reached the age of maturity as directed by law (Archer M.D.). Legally, being 18 years old in the U.S. is considered to be the adult age, but the consumption of alcohol has always been withheld from the young adults of today, until the age of 21. When you’re 18 year old, you can apply for a credit card, legally marry whoever you may want without parental consent, divorce, rent,†¦show more content†¦At the same time, moderate drinking helps lower levels of cholesterol and prevents colds, unless the drinker smokes tobacco, meaning moderate drinking with care can be seen as not harmful when done by responsi ble adults (Pringle). Even though 18 is the â€Å"adult† age in the U.S. 18-19 is still technically the teenager age and teens are said to be at a more extreme risk than adults would be to die in a car crash, partially because of alcohol’s stronger effects on lighter people (Pringle). Should 18 be the legal age for alcohol consumption? Although denying young adults to alcohol may seem unfair, 21 should be the legal age for alcohol consumption in the U.S. rather than 18, because of the overall improved death and health rates shown as the outcome. Currently in the U.S. the legal drinking age is at 21, an age that many people believe is fair. In the U.S. more than 25k lives have been saved because of the 21 minimum legal drinking age (Madd). Although health facts and opinions all have their own facts, the statistics don’t lie. Even with 18-20 year olds legally being accepted as adults, this age group is still more likely to illegally drink because they’re so close to the legal age. But those who start drinking before the age of 21 are more likely to be involved in violent behaviors, attempt suicide, have unprotected sex, develop alcoholic problems, and more (Pringle). On top of this, drinking at a young age greatly increases the risk of developing alcohol