Alcohol and Drinking Age essays

Alcohol and Drinking Age essays In 1920 Prohibition was enacted. Prohibition was the United States eighteenth Amendment, banning the drinking, manufacture, or sale of intoxicating liquors (beverages containing .5% or more alcohol). Alcohol use declined sharply in the 1920s, but many people ignored the ban and produced alcohol illegally in their homes. In 1933, it was argued that the eighteenth Amendment was took away jobs and encouraged crime, thus Prohibition was repealed. Since 1933, alcohol consumption has increased dramatically. In the 1970s many states lowered the drinking age from twenty-one to eighteen. As youth alcohol consumption rose, so did related drunk driving accidents, suicide, and violence. Currently the legal drinking age in all fifty states is twenty-one. Some people argue that a person should have the right to decide for or against drinking and the government should not regulate alcohol consumption. Others think that if teens are allowed to drink, the novelty of beer or wine will wear o ff and there will be less binge drinkers. With 10.6 million teens consuming alcohol within the last year, the legal alcohol drinking age must remain at twenty-one to preserve the health and welfare of Americas youth. Alcohol has a very toxic effect on the human body. Alcohol targets and begins to destroy major organs. In drinkers it is not uncommon to find ulcers in the stomach and inflammation of the pancreas. Cirrhosis, or scar tissue in the liver, may occur after periods of excessive drinking. After an alcoholic stops drinking they may experience Delirium Tremens. This can result in hallucinations, blackouts, or extreme tremors. About 4.6 million Americans under the age of seventeen are problem drinkers. Meaning, they have been arrested, been in an accident, or have had health problems related to drinking. Teens are generally to young to judge safe amounts of alcohol to drink and can overdose on ...