Vanessa Jimenez
Oral Communications
Professor
September 17th 2015
Why the Drinking Age Being 18 could benefit the US
In the United States, at the age of 18, you are given the right to vote, purchase
tobacco products (in most states), be criminal charged as an adult, and enlist in the army
and become trained to kill. But why is it the United States does not allow you to legally
open a can of beer? If you are an adult, with many rights given to once you turn 18, why
is it that one cannot make the mature choice of being able to purchase and consume
alcohol. How many people do you actually know that have waited until they were 21 to
have an alcoholic beverage? On July 17th 1984, The US Congress passed the National
Minimum Drinking Age in every state changing the drinking age from 18 to 21. This
question is debatable to people of all ages, especially to the young adults entering college
but also the many concerned adults. Underage drinking is so common between ages 18-
20 and is so little enforced, why not just lower the drinking age?
There are many pros to changing the drinking age to 18. Allowing 18-20 year olds
to drink in a supervised environment such as a college bar can prevent over-drinking and
unsafe drinking habits that kids do at fraternities, sororities, sports houses, etc. At most
supervised college bars, there is security to make sure everything is under control. A lot
of times when you have too much to drink they cut you off and don’t allow you to
