Teenage Wasteland

by: Cara Geils

Fig. 1. Strattner, Patrick. Teens Take Vodka Straight Up Through Their Eyes.

In America, laws exist to provide order, justice, and structure to

society. Typically, laws are made to instruct citizens on what they
specifically can and cannot do in order to protect and enhance the lives
of the nation. Despite this, there are laws that exist today that are
impractical and thus debated quite often. The National Minimum
Drinking Age Act is one of these laws. Prior to this act, when a U.S.
citizen turned 18 years old, they assumed the many responsibilities of
being an adult and could also legally consume alcohol (in most states).
This all changed in 1984, when Congress passed the National Minimum
Drinking Age Act, which contains a set of laws that restrict and limit the
ability for people under the age of 21 to purchase or consume alcohol.
However, you would have to be blind not to realize that underage
drinking occurs quite often despite this act. In fact, findings show that

the laws enacted under the National Minimum Drinking Age Act have
had little effect on the targeted groups (ages 18-20) ability to
consume alcohol (Evans). If anything, rather than improving the health
and safety of teenagers, this law has led to an increase in unsafe
drinking habits and drinking environments among the effected age
group. Although the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was passed
with honorable intentions, it has become clear that the consequences
of this act outweigh the benefits. America, it is time to take a step in
the right direction and lower the drinking age from 21 back to
eighteen.
One thing that everyone can agree on is that alcohol has been a
center of controversy in America throughout its history. Over the years,
each states individual minimum drinking age has fluctuated in an
attempt to curb the negative consequences that arise from alcohol
consumption. In fact, at one point in time (The Prohibition Era), alcohol
was even outlawed for all U.S. citizens regardless of age. In the years
leading up to the creation of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, it
wasnt just alcohol consumption that was a problem, but rather
drinking and driving. In 1971, after the ratification of the 26th
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which lowered the national voting
age to 18, the majority of states lowered their minimum drinking age
as well (Figlio). When this happened, a large number of teenagers
began to drink alcohol and then drive, which led to a sharp increase in

the number of drunk driving incidents among teenagers. At this time,

drinking and driving was not yet a hugely publicized issue in America
and many people did not know just how dangerous it is. Instead of
educating teenagers about the risks and dangers involved with
drinking and driving, advocates from MADD (Mothers Against Drunk
Driving) and RID (Remove Intoxicated Driving) expressed concern to
state and local officials and urged them to raise the minimum legal
drinking age (Liebschutz).
At this time, raising the drinking age seemed like the right thing
to do. The short term effects would be highly visiblenot only would
there be a reduction in drunk driving incidents, but American
teenagers would be better protected from the health risks and reckless
behaviors that are associated with alcohol consumption. The first
official action taken to raise the minimum drinking age occurred On
December 1982, [when] the Presidential Commission on Drunk Driving
recommended that a nationwide minimum legal drinking age be set at
21 (Evans). Shortly after this announcement, Congress passed the
National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which would punish states
that did not raise their legal drinking age to twenty-one (Evans).
Eventually every state complied and today, over thirty years later, the
minimum drinking age remains at twenty-one.
It should be noted that, to a certain extent, the National
Minimum Drinking Age Act was successful. Proponents for the National

Minimum Drinking Age claim that raising the age has saved 25,000
lives from drunk driving fatalities (MADD- Mothers Against Drunk
Driving) . While this may be true, what many do not take into account
is that this rising trend actually may have started before the minimum
drinking age act was in effect. Currently there are no studies that prove
that raising the minimum drinking age has anything to do with the
decrease in drunk driving fatalities. While it is true that drinking
fatalities have been cut on half since 1980 (MADD), this could quite
possibly only be true because the issue of drunk driving has been
dramatically publicized since 1980, and now more Americans are
aware of the issue. Even so, while driving under the influence is
certainly a major problem, more than 3 out of 5 alcohol-related deaths
among people under 21 occur off the road (Tracy). When we make the
drinking age debate solely about drinking and driving, we seem to
ignore all of the other consequences that come with alcohol
consumption.
Although the National Minimum Drinking Age Act was set in place
to remove teenagers from the wild drinking scene, it has failed to do
so. In fact, studies show that Ninety-two percent of high school
seniors report consuming alcohol at some point in their lives, and 64%
report being current drinkers. Moreover, 35% report becoming
intoxicated regularly (5+ drinks per occasion) (Wagenaar). Rebellion is
at the heart of many teenagersin one survey a teenager admitted

that since [drinking alcohol] is illegal, I think that we do it more to

show that we can get away with it (Evans). America has learned the
hard way that teenagers are going to drink whether or not they are
allowed tomorality cannot be governed.
The national minimum drinking age of 21 in America is
something that, up until recently, I have never really cared about or
been interested in. However, as I grew older and entered high school, I
began to realize that underage drinking does indeed occur, and it is
widespread. I find that rather than reducing the number of teenagers
that drink alcohol, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act has only
reduced the number of teenagers that publicly drink alcohol. Now that
the drinking age is 21, teenagers are forced to drink alcohol behind
closed doors. Instead of drinking responsibly at a bar or other venue
with adult supervision, teenagers resort to drinking in private areas.
Pre-gaming is a term commonly used by teenagers nowadays to
refer to the act of binge drinking before an event or a night out on the
town. It is here, at private drinking gatherings like these, where some
of the most horrific drinking behaviors occur. I am not yet nineteen
years old, but I have already seen countless teenagers throw up and
not be able to stand or walk due to inebriation. In addition to what I
have seen firsthand, I have also heard one too many stories of
acquaintances passing out and having to get their stomach pumped in
the emergency room because they drank too much. The scariest part

about this is that every day stories like these are becoming more and
more common, despite all of the current day efforts to prevent
underage alcohol consumption.
In particular, college campuses across America are especially
well known for being centers of teenage drinking and partying. Before
the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, drinking alcohol in public on
university campuses was legal, and it occurred commonly. Kegs filled
with beer often sat on the front lawn of fraternity houses, and cops
would often stroll through parties to make sure things did not get out of
hand (Cary). People did not have to worry about pre-gaming or
concealing the fact that they were drinking, and could casually sip on a
beer for however long they wished. In my opinion, the college party
scene 35 years ago, when alcohol was legal, was a lot less wild and
dangerous than the college party scene nowadays. I am not the only
one who thinks this way. Mary Cate Cary, a former White House speech
writer for President George H.W. Bush, wrote in a recent article that
shed rather see [her] kids sipping beer out of a red Solo cup at a wellpatrolled fraternity party than drinking shots and popping a Vicodin in
someones basement off campus(Cary). Cary also carries her
argument even further by making a connection between underage
drinking and sexual assault:
We can all agree that sexual assault as a result of alcohol
and drug abuse is a very serious problem on Americas

college campuses. But forming a task force in Washington

probably wont help. Allowing states to lower the legal
drinking age would. (qtd. in Cary)
Connecting sexual assault to underage drinking is a critical point that
people do not often consider. However, we must take into account how
forcing teenagers to drink in private and secluded areas makes the
crime of sexual assault that much easier to commit.
For several years now, colleges across America have been
devising strategies to curb underage drinking. With each passing day,
more and more are beginning to realize that this is nearly impossible.
In summer 2008, more than 100 college presidents and other higher
education officals signed the Amethyst Initiative, which calls for a
reexamination of the minimum legal drinking age in the United States
(Carpeter). The main argument of the Amethyst Initiative is that the
National Minimum Drinking Age Act has resulted in more dangerous
drinking habits than those that would occur if the minimum drinking
age were lower. The Amethyst Initiative has fueled many proposals to
lower the drinking age in various states, but as of now no state has
lowered their drinking age yet (Carpenter). The major reason why no
action has been taken thus far is most likely because the minimum
drinking age is enforced with sanctions. The sanctions embodied in
P.L. 98-363 consist of withholding highway trust funds apportioned to
the stated by formula (Section 106, Title 23, U.S. Code) (Liebschutz).

So, if a state were to lower their minimum drinking age, they would risk
depleting their highway funds. In order to alleviate the burden imposed
on states that wish to lower their minimum drinking age, an
amendment needs to be made to the National Minimum Drinking Age
Act so that there is no correlation between government highway funds
and minimum drinking age in each state.
The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is a perfect example of a
law with unrealistic expectations and unintentional penalties. Although
raising the national minimum drinking age from 18 (in most states) to
21 seemed like a simple solution to reduce the many unwanted effects
of teenage alcohol consumption, it was simply too good to be true.
Americans need to realize the truthThe National Minimum Drinking
Age Act has had 31 years to improve the welfare of Americans, and it
has failed to do so. Laws exist to provide order, justice, and structure to
society, but the laws enabled under the National Minimum Drinking
Age Act do not do any of those things. It is time for America to either
amend or remove the National Minimum Drinking Age Act and lower
the drinking age to 18the future of America depends on it.

Works Cited
Carpenter, Christopher, and Carlos Dobkin. "The Minimum Legal
Drinking Age and
Public Health." Journal of Economic Perspectives 25.2 (2011):
133-56. Web
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& World
Report, 7 May 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2015.
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the Drinking
Behavior of the Underage Group. International Review of
Modern Sociology 28.1 (1998): 117-28. JSTOR. Web. 24 Feb.
2015.
Figlio, David N. "The Effect of Drinking Age Laws and Alcohol-Related
Crashes:
Time-Series Evidence from Wisconsin." Journal of Policy Analysis
and Management 14.4 (1995): 555-66. JSTOR. Web. 24 Feb.
2015.
Liebschutz, Sarah F. "The National Minimum Drinking-Age Law." Publius
The State
of American Federalism Vol. 15.No. 3 (1984): 39-51. JSTOR. Web.
24 Feb. 2015.
"MADD - Underage Drinking." MADD - Underage Drinking. N.p., n.d.
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Strattner, Patrick. Teens Take Vodka Straight Up Through Their
Eyes. 2010.
Time. Web. 17 Mar. 2015.
Tracy, Sam. "Is the National Drinking Age Doing More Harm Than
Good?" The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2015.
Wagenaar, Alexander C., and Mark Wolfson. "Enforcement of the Legal
Minimum
Drinking Age in the United States." Journal of Public Health Policy
15.1 (1994): 37. JSTOR. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.