Drinking Age adjustment from 21 to 18.

In addressing my opponent"s first contention that alcohol is physically harmful, I must fully agree. Alcohol is in fact harmful and has negative effects on the human mind and body. The fact that alcohol is harmful does not change the fact that my opponent has no solvency for this impact. According to the most recent study in examining how alcohol affects the human brain, the study concluded that the brain does not finish developing until the age of 25[1]. Whether the drinking age is 21 or 18, the uses of alcohol below the age of 25 will continue to face these risks. Neither I, nor my opponent solve for this issue, which is why I ask the audience to weigh this lightly and disregard it. Now that I"ve illustrated the insignificance of my opponent"s first claim, onto my opponent"s second contention that an 18 year old mind is less mature than that of a 21 year old. I have yet to find the relevance in this fact. I have chosen not to argue that the difference between 18 and 21 is significant, however chosen to cross-apply my Right of Choice contention from my round 1. Although it may be significant to say that allowing adults to make the choice to drink alcohol at 18 is illogical and dangerous, my opponent has failed to realize the responsibilities which have been endowed by society to these individuals already. ". I stand firmly believing that once someone reaches the age of 18, they are legally and thus obligated to take responsibility for their actions. Whether or not alcohol is found to be detrimental to those between 18 and 21, 18 is the age of adulthood in the United States. When someone turns 18, they are endowed the rights and responsibilities of the active members of the society which include the right to vote for legislative officials, smoke tobacco, get into legally binding contracts, be prosecuted as adults, and what I find most interesting, joining the military- which is a direct risk to one"s life, future and psychological well being." We do not live in a society of picking and choosing what rights and responsibilities adults have. We cannot agree that someone can purchase cigarettes, which have been known to cause various forms of cancer, dementia and other degenerative diseases, and turn around and say that they cannot purchase alcohol because they aren"t mature enough to make that decision. If someone is mature enough to be able to formulate complex ideas, work a job, get married, fight and die for this country, then they are mature enough to decide what they would like to ingest into their bodies. I"d like to take this moment to cross apply the first fact that was given in my opening in round 1, "although many believe that anyone under the age of 21 is prohibited from consuming alcohol in the United States, underage drinking is allowed in 29 states if done on private premises with parental consent, 25 states if for religious purposes, and 11 states if for educational purposes. This will be an important factor later on in the debate". The status quo allows for the ingestion of alcohol for underage drinkers with the consent of parental supervision. This in itself should be enough for the audience to see that the argument of "detrimental to health" is clearly a fa"ade that holds no ground in substantive impacts of the world, and thus this debate. Onto the third and final contention my opponent addressed in his speech is that alcohol can be connected to various crimes. I have researched 4 major flaws with this contention. 1.There are fewer drunk driving traffic accidents and fatalities in many countries with MLDA of 18. Although the United States increased the MLDA to 21 in 1984, its rate of traffic accidents and fatalities in the 1980s decreased less than that of European countries whose legal drinking ages are lower than 21 [5][6][7][8][9]. 2.MLDA 21 is not statistically associated with lower rates of suicide, homicide, or vandalism. In a 2002 meta-study of the legal drinking age and health and social problems, 72% of the studies found no statistically significant relationship despite claims that lowering the MLDA to 18 would increase suicide and criminal activities by adolescents [2]. 3.Allowing 18- to 20-year-olds to drink alcohol in regulated environments with supervision would decrease unsafe drinking activity. Prohibiting this age group from drinking in bars, restaurants, and other licensed locations causes them to drink in unsupervised places such as fraternity houses or house parties where they may be more prone to binge drinking and other unsafe behavior [3]. 4.Lowering MLDA 21 would reduce the number of underage people who are hurt from alcohol-related injuries or accidents due to fear of legal consequences if they sought medical attention. Refrences: 1. Cox, Tony. "Brain Maturity Extends Well Beyond Teen Years." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. 2. http://www.cdc.gov... 3. Choose Responsibiltiy, "FAQs," www.chooseresponsibility.org 4. Alexander C. Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey, "Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000," Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002 5. Thomas S. Dee and William N. Evans, "Behavioral Policies and Teen Traffic Safety," American Economic Review, May 2001 6. Peter Asch and David T. Levy, "Young Driver Fatalities: The Roles of Drinking Age and Drinking Experience," Southern Economic Journal, Oct. 1990 7. "Alcohol Impaired Driving," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, www.nhtsa.gov, 2009 8. Barry M. Sweedler, "The Worldwide Decline in Drinking and Driving: Has It Continued?," Presentation for the 15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety in Stockholm (Sweden), www.ntsb.gov, May 2000 9. Jeffrey A. Miron and Elina Tetelbaum, "The Dangers of the Drinking Age," Forbes, Apr. 15, 2009