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The United States has the highest legal drinking age in the western world. This age limit was established by the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984. This law was driven largely by the desire to reduce traffic fatalities associated with alcohol consumption.
This requires all states in the US to legislate and enforce a minimum legal age of 21 years for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages. States that does not comply with the provisions of the act are subjected to a 10% percent decrease in its annual federal highway apportionment.
There are some ambiguities in the provisions of the law. This law "specifically requires states to prohibit purchase and public possession of alcoholic beverages. It does not require prohibition of persons under 21 (also called youth or minors) from drinking alcoholic beverages." There are also controversies in connection with the term "public possession" which basically do not apply to the following situations: - alcohol for established religious purposes, under adult supervision - alcohol for medical purposes, prescribed or administered by a licensed health care professional - alcohol use in private clubs or establishments - alcohol possession as part of a job with a "duly licensed manufacturer, wholesaler or retailer."
It is not surprising that parents and anti-drunken advocacy groups are the ones who are strongly against lowering the age limit. In the early 1970s, the minimum drinking age was reduced by several states between 18 to 20 years to closely align with the reduced military enlistment and voting age during the Vietnam War. Many studies show that this move resulted in increased traffic fatalities and injuries.
According to statistics compiled by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), annually alcohol drinking by college students ages 18 to 24 contributes to the following: - Approximately 1,700 student deaths - Almost 600,00 injuries - Almost 700,000 assaults - More than 90,000 sexual assaults - 474,000 engagement in unprotected sex
In 1998, 42% of crash fatalities among 18 to 20 year olds were alcohol-related. However, the drinking rates among the youth declined since the 21-MLDA law went into effect. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the 21 minimum drinking age law saved approximately 900 lives per year. This means more than 17,000 lives were saved since all states adopted the law in 1988. The 21 minimum age law is considered as one of the most effective public safety laws today. Many studies have been conducted to measure its effectiveness and they all have the same conclusion-the law saves lives.
One of the most influential supporters of the 21 legal age limit is MADD. This non-profit organization was established in 1980 with the mission of helping the victims of crimes caused by individuals driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It also aims to aid the families of the victims and to increase public awareness of the problem of drinking and drugged driving. MADD was considered as one of the most influential proponents in the signing of the minimum drinking age act in 1984.
The 21-MLDA is closely linked to the issue of college drinking. Alcohol abuse in colleges and universities in the US is becoming a major problem despite the existing MLDA law. In 2002, a report that reviews that state of science of college drinking was published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol. According to the report, about 80% of college students drink and about 50% go on "episodic heavy drink" or better known as binge drinking.
Scientific evidence showed that drinking at an early age can lead to alcohol dependence later in life. A UK cohort study showed that teen binge drinkers are more likely to become heavy drinkers as adults, which can lead to social exclusion and criminality. In this more recent study in the US, "age at onset of drinking" is a major indicator of risk of alcohol dependence among American women.
Adults aged 18 to 20 years old who are not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages are obviously the number one opponents to the 21 MLDA. They raise concerns about the apparent inconsistency in prohibiting them to drink while being treated as adults in most areas of life. For example, American citizens are allowed to vote when they are 18 years of age. Eighteen-year old males are also required to render military service for possible drafting. This means that 18-year old males can go to war and carry guns. Eighteen-year olds can also be selected for jury duty. These youth groups are now questioning why they can be trusted to vote, serve the military and justice system, but can't be trusted to drink alcohol.
By portraying alcohol as a forbidden fruit, the MLDA law actually makes drinking more attractive to the young. This observation is not only restricted to alcohol but other substances such as illegal drugs. However, the big difference is that access to alcohol, albeit regulated by law, is easier and more affordable than drugs. Also, by coupling the law to age, it presents a challenge to the youth to prove their maturity and adulthood.
In addition, history proves that prohibition of alcohol, as was the case in the early part of the last century in many countries, including the US, encouraged periodic but excessive drinking.
Those who are for the lowering of MLDA claim that the current law actually worsened the drinking problem in colleges.
According to Indiana University professor Ruth Engs: - Students who are "vomiting after drinking" increased from 46% in 1982-87 to 50% after the age limit law has changed. - "Cutting classes after drinking" has increased from 9% to almost 12% - "Missing classes due to hangover" increased from 26% to 28% - "Getting low grades due to drinking" increased from 5% to 7% - "Been in a fight after drinking" went up from 12% to 17%
This increase in excessive and irresponsible drinking is due to "underground drinking" in student dormitories, fraternity basements and apartments without adult supervision. These young drinkers lack the knowledge of responsible drinking behaviors. By reducing the MLDA, young people can learn the proper norms of social drinking early, under supervision, thus helping resolve the problem of irresponsible drinking.
The Amethyst Initiative Support for the reduction of MLDA came from the most unexpected places - top officials of several American colleges. The Amethyst Initiative, launched in 2008, is an organization made up of over 100 university heads, including presidents and chancellors of prestigious institutions like Duke University, Dartmouth College and John Hopkins. The organization members claim, based on their campus experience that "twenty-one is not working" so that there is a need to examine the currently existing MLDA law.
The Amethyst Initiative points out that drinking problems start even before college. They are now calling upon legislatures to review current alcohol policies and develop new ideas to prepare young adults in becoming responsible alcohol drinkers.
According to a 2002 report by the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), the United States has the highest legal drinking age limit in the world. The five other countries that set a minimum drinking age of 21 are Chile, Egypt, Honduras, Russia and Samoa. In some countries, there are exemptions or special circumstances that may affect the age limit for alcohol consumption. Examples of these are: - In Norway, beer and wine may be consumed at age 18 and spirits at age 20. - In Canada, drinking age limit are legislated by each province. Three provinces set age 18 as the consumption age while the rest have set the limit at 19. In the United Kingdom, alcohol may be consumed from age 5 with parental consent. The opponents of 21 MLDA argue that Europeans have lower problems of alcoholism and alcohol-related vehicular accidents despite the lower minimum age limit.
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 is full of loopholes and ambiguities. For example, provisions that prohibit purchase by, selling to and public possession but not consumption of alcohol by minors are confusing. While all states prohibit vendors to sell alcoholic beverages to minors, some states do not prohibit minors from purchasing alcohol. Some states allow minors to sell or serve alcoholic beverages without adult supervisions and the majority of the states do not prohibit minors from entering drinking establishments. Because of these loopholes, cross-state drinking excursions from strict states and less stringent states are frequent. It is also common for young people living close to the borders to Canada and Mexico to go binge drinking "abroad."
Drinking has been a government issue for years. Both the proponents as well as opponents of the 21 age limit agree that alcohol consumption is a serious problem among the youth but cannot agree on common solutions to resolve this.
Resolving the problem should probably start by addressing the previously mentioned loopholes in the MLDA. These loopholes weaken the enforcement of law in controlling underage drinking. In addition, there needs to be concerted collaboration between the major stakeholders and efforts toward additional research.
