Benefits To Lowering The Drinking Age. The enactment of the national minimum drinking age act of 1984 prompted states to raise their legal age for purchase or public possession of alcohol to 21 or risk losing millions in federal highway funds. After all states adopted an age 21 mlda, drinking during the previous month among persons aged 18 to 20 years declined from 59% in 1985 to 40% in 1991.
In parts of the western world, moderate drinking by teenagers and even children under their parents’ supervision is a given. Lowering mlda 21 to 18 will irresponsibly allow a greater segment of the population to drink alcohol in bars and nightclubs, which are not safe environments. According to the national center on addiction and substance abuse, underage drinking accounts for 17.5 percent ($22.5 billion) of consumer spending for alcohol in the u.s.
