The minimum drinking age in the US should be lowered to 18. With young adults already consuming alcohol, the MLDA is mostly useless. Young adults would benefit from drinking in safe environments and being regulated while they drink.

18 is the age of adulthood in the United States, and adults have the right to vote, smoke cigarettes, serve on juries, get married, sign contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and join the military. Consequently, these young adults’ rights should also include being able to make their own decisions on alcohol consumption.

Young adults under the age of 21 are already consuming alcohol on their own time. As long as people aged 18-20 are closely supervised during the consumption of alcohol, the rates of accidents related to alcohol abuse could be dramatically lowered. Prohibiting this age group from drinking in supervised environments like bars and restaurants causes them to drink in unregulated places such as house parties where they may be victims to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior.

One could argue that the US could use Europe as a model for lowering the MLDA. In “Is it time to lower the drinking age to 18?” Wil Fulton said “I remember being fascinated by the level of respect and control young Europeans had when they drank. Their explanation was they had been exposed to alcohol almost their entire lives, as enjoying a glass of wine at dinner is not uncommon for children as young as 12. These kids knew how much alcohol they could handle because they were taught about it in an upfront, transparent way. That’s not to say Europeans won’t sometimes overdo it, but as a whole, they seem to approach alcohol more responsibly than young Americans do”

With these pros come some cons, though. It is arguable that lowering the MLDA would be medically irresponsible. Medical specialists discuss that alcohol consumption can interfere with the development of the brains of young adults. According to https://www.helpguide.org/harvard/the-dangers-of-teenage-drinking.htm, this causes young adults to have reduced decision-making ability, violence, and suicide is greate. Drinking young can also cause experimenters to be at risk of getting alcohol poisoning due to the fact that they don’t understand their limits.

The MLDA should stay at 21 because studies show that young adults are more likely to be mature and responsible. 18 to 20 year olds are entering a stage of newfound independence and freedom. They are beginning to get involved in the workforce and even college. With a lowered drinking age these young adults are more susceptible to binge drinking and other behavior duet to lack of maturity.

Also, some bars and nightclubs are unsafe environments and lowering the MLDA would allow young adults under the age of 21 to be exposed to assaults or other violent crimes. According to http://drinkingage.procon.org/, “76% of bars have sold alcohol to obviously intoxicated patrons and about half of drivers arrested for driving while intoxicated (DWI) or killed as alcohol-involved drivers in traffic crashes did their drinking at licensed establishments.”

With a lowered MLDA, 18-20 year olds would be at a higher risk of driving intoxicated or being in danger at venues like nightclubs and bars.

The MLDA in the US should be lowered to 18 because young adults 18-20 years old have many rights such as voting and being able to purchase cigarettes so they should be able to choose if they drink alcohol as well. These young adults have the maturity and to decide to drink or not.