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Should the drinking age be 18? Should the drinking age be 18?
Yes, the drinking age should be 18. Yes, the drinking age should be 18.
No, the drinking age should be 21. No, the drinking age should be 21.
The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction. The ideal drinking age depends on the jurisdiction.
There should be no drinking age. There should be no drinking age.
Adults should have the right to decide to drink Adults should have the right to decide to drink
18 is the safest minimum age for drinking 18 is the safest minimum age for drinking
A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking A minimum age of 18 normalizes responsible drinking
Drinking alcohol is medically risky Drinking alcohol is medically risky
Younger people are too immature to drink Younger people are too immature to drink
A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving A higher drinking age reduces drunk driving
Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking Cultural and religious beliefs vary widely about drinking
Historically, there were no drinking age laws Historically, there were no drinking age laws
Young people drink regardless of the drinking age Young people drink regardless of the drinking age
Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement Underage drinking is not a priority for law enforcement
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Should the drinking age be 18?
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No, the drinking age should be 21.

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Younger people are too immature to drink

There are too many risks associated with drinking alcohol to trust young adults to drink responsibly. A higher minimum age is consistent with standards for other weighty responsibilities.
Ruth Sanchez-Way James Fell Mercury News
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The Argument

Drinking responsibly and making responsible decisions even while intoxicated require a greater degree of maturity than most young adults possess. Statistics show that young adults have higher than average rates of driving accidents, risky sexual activity, substance abuse, and many other harmful behaviors. Several legal rights other than drinking are also restricted to higher ages based on the the potential dangers. In some jurisdictions, these restricted rights include owning firearms, holding certain public offices, adopting children, and other mature responsibilities. Remaining consistent with such restrictions, the dangers posed by immature behavior under the influence of alcohol justify a higher drinking age.

Counter arguments

Proponents

Premises

[P1] Younger people possess less maturity and cannot be trusted to be able to legally drink responsibly. [P2] The age at which it is legal to drink should reflect this.

Rejecting the premises

References

This page was last edited on Wednesday, 7 Oct 2020 at 07:25 UTC

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