YES

Lowering the age will  decrease unnecessary crime penalties, ensure safety, as well as the fact that once one is 18. They are a legal adult who can make important decisions that can affect others lives as well as their own.

There are people in the U.S. who avoid getting charged for worse crimes than underage drinking, compared to someone who is being penalized for drinking whether they are simply trying it out because they are curious or for pleasure.

Alcohol should only be consumed by those who are responsible enough to handle it, but many of those who are underaged and irresponsible only drink because it is illegal, and drink purely to defy the rules.

In other countries such as China and Germany, the legal drinking age is 18 and it is proven that there are less alcohol-related problems there compared to the U.S.

At the age of 18 many are getting ready to head off to college. Many students who go to parties are able to access alcohol very easily, whether it is provided at a party or it is purchased from another student who is 21 or older.

If the drinking age was lowered to 18 the rate of the illegal purchase of alcohol would greatly decrease, along with the amount of those who own fake identification.

Many believe that at the age of 18 you are too irresponsible to handle alcohol, but one doesn’t magically become responsible in just a matter of three years. Saying that an 18 year old is too irresponsible to drink, but responsible enough to decide the fate of their country by voting, or is  responsible enough to legally wed is baffling.

At the age of 18, all male citizens are required to register for the military draft, so why is that one is not too young to go out and fight for their country, but too young to have a nice drink at a formal occasion or any other event.

All of these are examples of long term commitments that require a lot of thought and affect someone else other than yourself.

NO

The drinking age shouldn’t be lowered because those under 21 simply aren’t ready to have the freedom to consume alcohol whenever they please. Yes, they’re responsible enough to vote, to drive and buy cigarettes, but being able to drink is a whole nother level of responsibility.

Drinking can be the cause of car accidents, domestic violence, rape, etc. and that’s very relevant to teenagers because they get drunk twice as quickly as adults do, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Some look to European nations, such as Netherlands, that allow 16 year olds to drink and use them as an example of why the drinking age should be lowered.

The fault in that argument is that according to ESPAD (European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs), Europe has more underage drunkenness, injury, rape and school problems due to alcohol and its effects.

Of course there are some individuals who can handle what’s in their cup, but there are also countless occasions where there are people who can’t do so. That’s who the drinking restrictions are made for.

For the designated driver who couldn’t resist a fifth of vodka. For the boy who came from drinking and took our his problems by physically abusing a loved one.

For the innocent girl who got date raped after a guy slipped something in her drink at the party her friends pressured her to go to.

The reason why the drinking age is 21 and that it is such a responsibility is because drinking doesn’t just affect the drinker, it affects all of those around them.

The victim in a drunk driving accident may not have even known the drunk driver, but the victim and the family of both drivers may be affected forever depending on the severity of the crash. A rape victim could end traumatized and emotionally devastated for the rest of their life.

So giving the right to drink to teens who haven’t even graduated high school or college students, when parties are very relevant on campus, doesn’t seem like the greatest of ideas.