Primer: Should the National Drinking Age be Lowered?

Hello Political Union aficionados! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. This week PU will be debating whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to 18. We are so excited to hear what you have to say on this epic topic at 7pm this Monday in Scott Hall. To help guide you in your preparation, please enjoy this collection of resources so you can be informed and ready to participate in our discussion. Have a great Monday and see you all soon!!

• This Britannica article provides a great, research backed pro and con list for some quick bullet points on the topic (4 min)

• This article published by YouthRights.org presents evidence that raising the legal drinking age is harmful to everyone as it “deprives millions of people of their freedom” (2 min)

• This study published in 2011 argues against one of the major claims made by the Amethyst Initiative (see below), that lowering the minimum age of consumption does in fact reduce underage drinking and its harms

  • The Amethyst Initiative is a collection of college and university chancellors and presidents that call on lawmakers to change the national drinking age to 18, based on their philosophy that “21 is not working.” I highly encourage you to read their “Statement” page if you visit their website.

• This defense of the current drinking age published by the CDC offers empirical evidence on why the drinking age should remain 21 (2 min)

"Beer Bottle Caps" by deege@fermentarium.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.