The United States is an outlier in many things, and our minimum drinking age is no exception. Only four other countries have a drinking age as high as 21, with some European nations having one as low as 16. A drinking age shared across all 50 states today is a concept that is fairly modern but a reflection of the past.
Following the end of prohibition in 1933, nearly every state implemented a drinking age of 21, yet for a brief period in the 1970s, states’ drinking ages varied between 18 and 21. In 1968 when the 26th Amendment was ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 as a reaction to the draft, states felt it was unjust that 18-year-olds could vote and go to war but were still denied the right to purchase liquor. Between 1970 and 1980, most states lowered their minimum drinking age to 19, with some retaining the 21 minimum and others even going to 18.
Following a rise in fatal accidents and a sharp increase in public pressure, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act which required states to raise their minimum age to 21 or face penalties, including a loss of funds for highway repairs. While the law faced some resistance, eventually in 1986, every state had caved and implemented a minimum drinking age of 21.
While raising the drinking age was effective in lowering the number of fatalities caused by drunk driving, the conditions of the 1980s are much different than the norms of today.
While driving fatalities did decrease following states’ implementation of the higher minimum age, drunk driving deaths continued to decrease long after the last state implemented the 21 age minimum. Since 1991, drunk driving fatalities have decreased significantly, making it clear that, while lowering the drinking age certainly led to a sharp decrease in drunk driving deaths in the ‘80s, it is not the only factor.
Harsher laws, media and public awareness campaigns and better health education can all be better accredited for the continued drop in drunk driving deaths. With young people better educated on the risks of drinking and the dangers associated with drunk driving, a drinking age so high does more to endanger youth than it does to protect them.
As nearly every college and high school student knows, getting access to alcohol while underage is relatively easy. Research suggests that 80% of underage college students in the United States drink illegally, allowing them to be put in unsafe situations. The unregulated nature of illegally obtained alcohol increases the risk of beverages being laced with incapacitating agents, like sedatives or psychoactive drugs. The fear associated with getting caught drinking stops young people from seeking appropriate help for incredibly dangerous situations.
In 2021, most underage drinkers know how dangerous drunk driving is. Drinkers have options that were unavailable to other generations, like rideshare apps, for example. In the 21st century, there is no reason young people should be subject to unsafe conditions because of a drinking age that high.
Nothing will change the fact that young people are going to drink. The only thing we can do is ensure they’re doing it safely. To repeat the correct reasoning made by legislators of the 1970s, if you can vote, pay taxes and even be sent to war, then you should be allowed to buy a drink.
