Drinking and Driving Final Draft - Running head THE MINIMUM...

Running head: THE MINIMUM LEGAL DRINKING AGE
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The Minimum Legal Drinking Should Remain at Twenty One
Chamberlain College of Nursing

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Almost everyone can agree that alcohol should not be given to children. It can be a
dangerous substance and can damage the users or the people around them. In the United States
there is a great deal of controversy when it comes to the discussion of the minimum legal
drinking age of twenty one years old. Some believe that the age of twenty one does nothing to
control underage drinking and that there are more efficient ways of handling the problems of
underage drinking. Others, like myself, believe that the minimum legal drinking age of twenty
one is in fact the best and most effective approach of deterring underage drinking and the
harmful consequences that follow.
One group that believes that the minimum legal drinking age should be lowered to the
age of eighteen and the current laws of twenty one are not working is the Amethyst Initiative.
The Amethyst Initiative is an organization made up of U.S. college presidents and chancellors
that in July 2008 launched a movement calling for the reconsideration of U.S. legal drinking age,
particularly the minimum age of twenty one. The members of the Amethyst Initiative argue that
by lowering the legal drinking age from twenty one to eighteen years old will make young adult
drinking habits more responsible than the current alcohol use among young adults. The members
argue that as a result of a higher drinking age, this has led to more binge drinking on campuses
across the United States. Along with the Amethyst Initiative which is partnered with Choose
Responsibility has come up with set plans that they believe would be a better and more effective
alternative then the minimum legal drinking age of twenty one. The primary argument made in
the Initiative's statement in favor of repealing the twenty one laws is that these laws make
alcohol taboo, which drives underage drinking underground and causing more binge drinking to
take place than otherwise would, due to the allure of doing something that they are not suppose

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to be doing, the allure of “forbidden fruit” and the need for secrecy when drinking. By lowering
the drinking age, young adult consumption would come out into the open and binge drinking
would not be as wide spread as it is now. The second argument made by the Initiative is that the
legal age should be lowered and young adults should have alcohol education classes. Colleges
would then be allowed to have open, honest and to the point discussions about responsible
drinking. This would teach the now underage drinkers how to drink responsibly (Saylor, 2011).