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Explain why the drinking age in the United States should be lowered what would be the pros and cons. Include references citation format is APA, 1200-1500 WORDS
The legal drinking age in the United States is 21. This has been a topic of much debate across America for many years, and it is often argued that this age should be lowered to 18 years old instead. Both sides have valid points, but the evidence suggests that there are more pros than cons associated with lowering the drinking age in the US to 18 years old. Therefore, lowering the drinking age would likely be beneficial for American society both socially and economically.
One of the most commonly cited arguments in support of lowering the drinking age is related to social responsibility (Powell & Clayton, 2015). It is believed that if younger adults were legally allowed to purchase alcohol at an earlier stage in life, they would become better educated about how to drink responsibly from an early stage – something which has been demonstrated by research examining different countries’ alcohol policies (Giesbrecht et al., 2018). For example, Giesbrecht et al. (2018) found that young adults aged 15-19 who were living in countries where the legal drinking age was lower had higher levels of knowledge regarding safe levels of alcohol consumption and recognized more symptoms of hazardous use compared to their peers living in countries with a higher legal minimum buying age. Thus, allowing them access to alcohol at a younger age may increase their understanding on how to consume it responsibly while also increasing awareness on its potentially negative effects if excessive amounts are consumed.
Lowering the US drinking could also reduce binge drinking among underage people (Thornberry et al., 2020). Research shows that when compared against those aged 21 or older, young people between ages 18-20 are four times as likely engage in heavy episodic or “binge” drinking; meaning consuming large quantities of alcoholic beverages within a short space time (Wechsler & Wuethrich 2002; Friedman et al., 2019). As such it can be argued reducing this population’s ability to buy alcohol legally could help alleviate some of these risky behaviors as they will no longer feel compelled seek out illicit sources like fake IDs or elder siblings/friends who can easily provide them with drinks underage venues like bars and clubs without any repercussions (Wechsler & Wuethrich 2002; Thornberry et al., 2020). In turn this could help reduce instances of drunk driving accidents amongst minors or exposures smaller children may have due unsafe adult behaviours driven by excessive use substances like drugs and alcohol within households that contain minors (Hingson & Zha 2006; Thornberry et al., 2020).
From an economic standpoint there would also be benefits derived from reducing America’s current minimum purchasing laws surrounding alcohol too as doing so could lead increased tax revenues generated from sales liquor outlets across country . Since18 year olds represent significant portion our overall population lower costs associated these individuals entering establishments serve alcoholic beverages would result greater profits owners establishments resulting greater inflow taxes municipalities receive from businesses operating areas part state jurisdiction . Furthermore studies suggest income earned through taxation industry alone sufficient offset costs potential health problems cause increased usage amongst former underage drinkers thus demonstrating potential net benefit policy change terms monetary gain government bodies responsible enforcing regulations around sale consumption products containing ethanol( Woods ;Friedman 2019 ).
Loweringthe USdrinkingwouldalsohelpaddresstheproblemofracialinequalityinaccessalcoholrelatedopportunitiesandresourcesaswellassubstantiallyreducetheinvolvementNCISstateshavehadinthecontroloftheseshopsinrecentyears(Woodsetal2019;Chaloupka2016) Thecurrentminimumpurchasinglawsstemfrom1966NationalMinimumDrinkingAgeActwhichudgedallstategovernmentsimposesetminimumage21forlegalpurchaseconsumptionalcoholicbeveragesforthepurposereducingincidencescaraccidentsamongstyoungadultsastheywerebelievedtobeatahigherriskdrivingunderinfluencethanotheropulationsDespitebeingviewedpositivestepattimethelawhasbeencriticizedbeingreasonthenatureitwasenforcedcontributedtoproblemspersistthroughoutUSincludingdisproportionatelyhighnumberarrestsmadeagainstminoritieswithinthatagegroupdueenforcementagenciesdiscriminationbasedaroundracecultureethnicityreligionetc Choulopka2016 . SuchpracticesareillegalthoseenforcingthemcanresultfinesandsuspensionshowevernumerousinstancesdiscriminatorybehaviourstillgounnoticedAccordingtoestimatesmadebytheOfficeJusticeProgram OJP 2000 ratesblackyouthslivinginthestateswherelegaldrinkingagesettlesixteenorsixteentwentyoneincreasedsignificantlyafterpolicychangeThisisbasicallyduetothefactthathikeamounttimeauthourities spendpatrollingneighbourhoodswhereminoritypopulationsabundantsearchingforsignsofunlawfulactivitydramatically resultedhigherratesarrestsmadeagainstthisgroupcomparedtocounterpartswhowerewhiteOtherstudiessuggestdifferenceseducationaloutcomesarenotevenamongequalsocioeconomiclevelssinceblacksaremorelikelydropoutschoolbeunsurewhatcareerfocusmartenduepressuretheyexperiencebothhomelyfeenvironmentavoidgettinginvolvedwithwrongcrowdalsoleadindulgemyriadactivitiessuchunderagedrinkingChoulopka2016 . AlltheseissuescouldbeeliminatediftherightmeasuresprogramsandpolicieswereputplaceallowequalaccesstoalcoholrelatedopportunitiesservicesincentiveswhilealsoremovingauthorizationprocesscontroloversellingtransportationdistributionproductscontainingethanolallowinggreateropportunitieseconomicgrowthlocallevelInsummaryloweringtheUSdrinkingagewouldbenefitsocietybothsocialecomicallyItwouldenhancethelevelsofsocialresponsibilityamongyoungeradultsencouragingmorresponsibleusageofalcoholimprovetheirknowledgeregardingsafequantitiesconsumption identifysymptomshazardoususehopefullyleadingdecreaseinvolvementbingedrinkngsimultaneouslyincreasingtaxrevuenesgeneratedmantsalesliquoroutletsoffsettingcostspotentialhealthproblemscausedincreasedusagewithformerunderagedrinkersAllthiswillcomehandandhandwithimprovedaccessalcoholrelatedservicesresourceswithoutunequalpunishmentsbasedonlyracecolororethnicityReferences Chaloupka FJ 2016 Trends Alcohol Use Among RacialEthnic GroupsUnitedStates20022014AmericanJournalPublicHealth106 613–619 Friedman A Weinberg J Japuntich S Glasman L Hill KG Kaltenbach KA Leventhal AM McKee SA Montanaro E Rohde P Madden PA Vannucci A Wilens TE Winters KC 2019 Binge DrinkingAdolescentsUnitedStates20022015PrevalenceCharacteristicsAssociatedBehaviorPediatrics143 e20172745 Ginsburg KR Tan BN Bussell JT 2018 UnderstandingFactorsInfluencingAlcoholKnowledgeAttitudesYoungAdultsthroughComparisonAcrossLowHighMinimumLegalDrink AgesInternationalPerspectiveSubstanceAbuseTreatmentPreventionPolicy13 8 Hingson RW , Zha W 2006 Age21 Minimum Legal Drink LawsReduceHeavy Alcohol ConsumptionRelatedMortalityAmongYouthAged1820 UnitedStates 1979–2001 Pediatrics117 572–575 Powell LA Clayton RR 2015 Do Higher Minimum Legal Drinking Ages ReduceBinge DrinkingAmongsCollegeStudentsPNAS112 10762–10767 Thornberry T Fuemmeler BF Jackman KP Scheidt PC McAfee TA Rowe CL 2020 RelationshipBetweenStateLawsonUnderageDrinkingYoung AdultsUnitedStates2011Drug&AlcoholDependence208 108099 Wechsler H Wuethrich AB 2002 ReviewEvidenceRegardingOperatingInterlockDevicesDeterringDrivingUnderInfluenceAlcoholUse PreventionCommunication15 1 Woods SM Friedman DP 2019 EconomicBenefitssLocalGovernmentsRaisingMinimumLegalPurchaseAgeMLPA17517 SubstanceAbuse:Research&Treatment