The legal U.S drinking age
is lowered to 18

Allow for a greater number of the population to be able to drink

Medically Irresponsible

Alcohol affects the development
in the brain of an young adults

Increase of drug dependence, adverse birth outcomes, and suicide and homicide

18 year old tend to
be less mature than a
21 year old

18 year olds enter a
new phase of independence

More susceptible to binge
drinking, and risky behavior due
to lack of maturity

More violent bar
scenes

Increase of traffic accidents
and fatalites

Higher legal drinking ages
were associated with lower
traffic accidents

Resources:
1) https://drinkingage.procon.org
2) https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/minimum-legal-drinking-age.htm
3)http://www.chooseresponsibility.org/debating_the_issues/
4) Toomey, T. L., Nelson, T. F., & Lenk, K. M. (2009). The age-21 minimum legal drinking age: a case study linking past and current debates. Addiction, 104(12), 1958–1965. https://ezproxy.wou.edu:4285/10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02742.x

High school seniors would have easier access to alcohol

Potentially lead to
more sexual assault
cases