Running head: Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age to 18: The Positive Effects 1

Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age to 18: The Positive Effects

By

Kyndall Hall

Campbell County Schools Senior Research Project

submitted to Brookville High School

April 23rd 2021

Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age to 18: The Positive Effects
2

Introduction/Problem Statement

Did you know that underage drinking accounts for about 17.5% of sales in the alcohol

industry? I choose to write about this topic because it is something that I feel instead of

addressing this topic, many will just break it because it is normalized for teenagers to drink

nowadays. As many people may think this isn’t a problem, it most certainly is because it can

cause other problems and issues such as driving while under the influence and other crimes

related to alcohol consumption. I am researching the positive effect of rasing the minimum age to

18 would have on crime rates, the illegal use of alcohol and our economy. Another reason this

topic means alot to me is the fact that at the age of 18 I can join the military, I can sign things for

myself and I can vote but I can’t have alcohol. As a nation we should come together to make this

happen because it would be a safer way to easy into alcohol consumption instead of jumping into

it on your 21st birthday.

Literature Review

What positive effects will lowering the drinking age to 18 have on crime rates?

In countries such as Mexico, Fiji and Sweden where their drinking age is already 18 they

have less drunk driving accidents. Research has found that the reason the United States has more

accidents is because underage drinkers fear getting in trouble with parents or police for drinking,

so they tend to get in their cars and drive home, causing more accidents and putting the lives of

US citizens in danger. “Normalizing alcohol consumption as something done responsibly in

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moderation will make drinking less of a taboo for young adults entering college and the

workforce” (Pros & Cons - ProCon.org). To normalize drinking when you become an adult

would give people between the ages of 18-20 learn how to drink responsibly and allow them to

learn their limits early on. With this evidence it is prevalent that crime rates would go down in

many ways including drunk driving accidents, public intoxication and underage drinking rates

would all go down.

Will it lower the amount of illegal alcohol use in the United States?

As stated earlier, 17.5% of alcohol consumption is from underage drinkers which is equivalent to

$22.5 billion dollars going into underage drinking. Not only would lowering the age make it

safer for everyone but if it were to be lowered then the percentage of illegal alcohol use would

also be lowered. “Many law enforcement agencies consider enforcing the drinking age a low

priority due to limited resources” (Otte Lower drinking age could mean safer consumption). The

fact of the matter is law enforcement officers don’t get paid enough nor do they have the

resources to crack down on every kid drinking while they are underage. In fact a study shows

that only 2 out of 1,000 cases of underage drinking lead to an arrest. Many believe that there is

no point in lowering the minimum drinking age because it will still be kids that drink, while that

is true it doesn’t take away the positive benefits of lowering the drinking age and it will be less of

a taboo to break the law when you can do it legally in a year or two.
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How will lowering the drinking age to 18 affect our economy?

One thing people from the opposite side of this debate say is that allowing adults 18-20 to

drink would take away money from drinking fine that the US receives. On the contrary it will

bring more money to the alcohol industry and having the fines due to drinking is a good thing as

it will keep us safe. It has been stated multiple times, because it is important, that $22.5 billion

dollars already go into underage drinking. So making it legal for adults 18 and up to drink would

bring money to the alcohol industry and lower the amount of money put into underage drinking.

Basically, the United States as a whole would have more income coming in and it would make

the country a little more safe.

Learning Explanation

Throughout this paper my main goal was to discover possible benefits of lowering our legal

drinking age from 21 to 18. Overall it was found to have many logical benefits for lowering the

age such as crime rates would lower in many ways one of which being the amount off illegal

alcohol being consumed would lower as well and it would help boost our economy all together.

This topic is intriguing to others as well because most people can relate to wanting to try alcohol

while underage but not being able to. It will keep our community safer and allow people to

slowly get in to drinking alcohol and doing so responsibly. What sense does it make to make
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adults wait until they are 21 to drink when we could allow them to do so under conditions that

would let them learn how to drink responsibly and in moderation. In my research I have proven

that lowering the drinking age to 18 would not only be safer for the US but it would have many

positive benefits on crime rate, economy and illegal use of alcohol.

References

Hando, Lauren. “Why the Legal Drinking Age Should Be Lowered to 18.” The Badger

Herald, 26 Nov. 2019,

badgerherald.com/opinion/2019/11/25/why-the-legal-drinking-age-should-be-lowered-to-1

8/.

Mandal, Saunak. “Lowering the Drinking Age Could Be Cost Effective.” NYRA, 11 Dec.

2019,

www.youthrights.org/blog/lowering-the-drinking-age-could-be-cost-effective/#:~:text=Rev

enue%20from%20taxes%20on%20the%20alcohol%20industry%20would%20increase.&te

xt=About%2010%25%20(%247%20billion,%247%20billion%20is%20%24350%20millio

n.
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Otte, Kynslie. “Lower Drinking Age Could Mean Safer Consumption.” University News,

17 Sept. 2012,

info.umkc.edu/unews/lower-drinking-age-could-mean-safer-consumption/#:~:text=Accordi

ng%20to%20the%20National%20Center,for%20alcohol%20in%20the%20U.S.&text=Low

ering%20the%20drinking%20age%20would,related%20accidents%20among%20underage

%20drinkers.

“Pros & Cons - ProCon.org.” Drinking Age, 9 June 2020, drinkingage.procon.org/.

Throm, The opinion of Ali. “THROM: Lowering the Drinking Age to 18 Is Better than

Keeping It at 21.” The Daily Nebraskan, 13 Sept. 2017,

www.dailynebraskan.com/opinion/throm-lowering-the-drinking-age-to-18-is-better-than-ke

eping-it-at-21/article_a28eef04-983b-11e7-9da0-8fbea1f03e90.html.