The Orbis

In recent years, the debate over the minimum drinking age in the United States has gained momentum, but this is not the first time Americans have disputed the issue. When prohibition was ended with the 21st Amendment, 21 became the standard drinking age across the country, but individual states controlled their own drinking laws. With the outbreak of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, and the widespread draft of 18 year old males, many began asking the question, "Why can I die for my country, get married, but not have a beer?"

By the 1970s, the wishes of young veterans were answered by 29 state legislatures, who lowered their minimum drinking ages to 20, 19 and even 18. Other states insisted that a high drinking age was in the best safety interest of U.S. citizens and began collecting data in their own states and in the states that had lower drinking ages. Evidence seemed to suggest that lower drinking ages resulted in an increase in traffic accidents caused by teenagers. By 1976, 16 of the 29 states had already returned their drinking age to 21. Through the lobbying efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Diving in the early 80's, legislation was passed that pressured states to either raise their drinking age to 21 or lose highway/interstate funding.

Interestingly, although all states have subsequently raised the minimum age of purchase to 21, laws governing consumption and possession vary. For instance, in Colorado, Georgia, New York, Ohio, Texas and South Dakota it is legal for minors to consume alcohol if they are accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. All states allow for the consumption of alcohol for medicinal purposes, and a few states even stipulate that college students may taste (but not consume) alcoholic beverages for educational purposes.

Since pressuring states to raise the drinking age to 21 in the late '70s and early '80s, the United States has remained one of the few nations in the world to have such a high minimum, others being Russia and Japan. The age in almost all European countries is 18, but is as low as 14 in some parts of Switzerland and 15 in Belgium.

Those young drinking ages cause few reported problems around the world, but in the United States, the National Highway and Traffic Administration maintains that 21 makes all the difference, estimating that at least 1,000 more Americans would die every year if the drinking age were 18. The NHTA explains that drinking among high school seniors has gone down 38% since 1976, and as a result, there are significantly fewer drunk drivers on the roads.

Despite these statistical inferences, the drinking-age debate rages on, with the National Youth Rights Association and MADD both launching opposing media campaigns in the past year. It doesn't appear that there is a clear end in sight; however, activists arguing either side of the debate are not likely to give up any time soon.

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