Why 21?

More than 25,000 lives have been saved in the U.S. thanks to the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age. This law
continues to prevent tragedies — decreasing crashes by an estimated 16 percent and keeping young people safe.

MYTH: Lowering the drinking age will encourage young people to be responsible consumers rather than drink at uncontrolled, private parties.

Many youth drink with the goal to get drunk. They are not “wired” in the brain to assess risk and to be responsible when it comes to risky behavior. There is no class or situation that will prompt a teen to drink responsibly when alcohol flows freely.

MYTH: Drinking is just a phase all kids go through; they’ll grow out of it.

Actually, many don’t.  In fact, the earlier someone begins drinking, the more likely they are to be alcohol dependent in later life.  More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.5  Ninety-five percent of the 14 million people who are alcohol dependent began drinking before the legal age of 21.6

References
5. Grant, Bridgett and Deborah Dawson. “Age at Onset of Alcohol Use and Its Association with DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence.” Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey.  Journal of Substance Abuse 9 (1997): 103-110.
6. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Alcohol Dependence or Abuse and Age at First Use.” Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Applied Studies, October 22, 2004.
Read the full study here

MYTH: If I’m old enough to go to war, I should be old enough to drink.

21 is the minimum age because a person’s brain does not stop developing until his or her early to mid-20s. Drinking alcohol while the brain is still developing can lead to long-lasting deficits in cognitive abilities, including learning and memory.

Alcohol use by those under 21 is also related to numerous health problems including injuries and death resulting from alcohol poisoning, car crashes, suicide, homicide, assaults, drowning and recreational mishaps. Not to mention that the early onset of drinking by youth significantly increases the risk of future health problems such as addiction.

Regardless of a person’s profession, underage drinking is still dangerous and unsafe. It is a fact based on biology not maturity or service to our country.

References
How alcohol affects brain: https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Alcohol Dependence or Abuse and Age at First Use.” Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Applied Studies, October 22, 2004. Read the full study here.

MYTH: MADD says kids shouldn’t have access to marijuana, but marijuana isn’t as bad as alcohol, I mean at least it is not addictive.

Marijuana is very addictive!  In fact in 2016 over 4 million people were diagnosed with substance use disorder due to marijuana use.  Marijuana that is produced and sold not has a much higher content of THC than what was seen on the market in the 60’s and 70’s.  Just like with alcohol, the young brain is not ready to protect teens against drugs like marijuana and alcohol.

References
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2017). Key substance use and mental health indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (HHS Publication No. SMA 17-5044, NSDUH Series H-52). Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/
Citation: NIDA. Marijuana. National Institute on Drug Abuse website.
https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/marijuana.Updated August 1, 2017.