Lowering the legal drinking age would have a larger impact than most would care to believe. By lowering the drinking age, younger people would be held just as accountable for their actions as any legal drinker would now. The fact that many underage drinkers are currently let off easily in a court of law is upsetting. The person in question would have no one to blame but themselves for any actions that unfold due to alcohol if it were legal. It is also equally upsetting that anyone ages 18 and up is considered an adult, has the right to vote, and can defend this country in the military, yet cannot consume a beve

One argument used by proponents of the current drinking age is drunken driving. Cynics believe that incorporating more of the population into alcoholic consumption, drunken driving will become more common and a danger to public safety. Any adolescent believed to partake in driving under the influence of alcohol, in fact, likely already does, as Barbara Arnold explains, "Over 40 percent of the deaths of adolescents result from motor vehicle accidents, and about 50 percent of these involve alcohol, making it the number one killer of young drivers" (Yarnold, 212). Since alcohol is already in the mainstream of teenage society, it would be wise to legalize drinking and drive less toward experimentation as a form of rebellion.

Yarnold, Barbara M. "The Use of Alcohol By Miami's Adolescent Public School Students 1992: Peers, Risk-Taking, and Availability as Central Forces." Journal of Drug Education. 28.3 (1998) : 211-233.

The legalization of alcohol to the young adults of America would pave the way for a series of programs to ensure safety. Currently there are few classes and programs for underage alcoholics, due to the disbelief that the problem even exists. Many people believe that since drinking is illegal, there is no possible way that any teenager could become an alcoholic. It is tendencies similar to this that even create a need for the drinking age to be lowered. The programs that do exist are not comprehensive enough to address the problem in an adequate fashion. Legalization would pave the way for federal funding and in-depth design of programs such as those already available to adults now. Alcoholics Anonymous is a prime example of a program that could benefit many underage drinkers today, yet the common disbelief and denial by lawmakers that plagues this country, prevents organizations such as this from becoming a reality.

Sindelar, Jody. "Social Costs of Alcohol." Journal of Drug Issues. 28.3 (1998) : 763-780.

Shields, Edgar W. "Relative Likelihood of In-season and Off-season Use of Alcohol by High School Athletes in North Carolina: Trends and Current Status." Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education. 43.2 (1998) : 48-63.

Gillmore, Mary Rogers, et al. "Childrens Beliefs About Drinking." American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 24.1 (1998) : 131-147.

Younger children, in fact, hold stronger values against drinking than older children. Children recognize that drinking may cause one to feel sick, experience health problems, or get into trouble. Unfortunately, the stage at which children lean away from these

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