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Drinking Laws

I. Introduction and Description of Problem (APX 2 PAGES)
1) Statement of the Problem: (5 pts)
Eighteen-year olds throughout the United States are considered legal adults in almost every way, with one notable exception: the privilege of having an alcoholic beverage.
In every state, eighteen-year olds are legally permitted to drive, live as they choose, and work where they choose. Eighteen-year olds pay taxes as other adults do, are subject to all criminal and civil laws, and are punished, jailed and even executed for crimes they might commit against such laws. They are also permitted to hold most local, state and federal government public offices, and can sponsor and pass new laws if elected. Again, the only exception to complete adult rights is a prohibition against an eighteen-year old buying or enjoying a beer or other type of alcoholic beverage anywhere in the United States.
Many countries elsewhere throughout the world have lower drinking ages or no age limitation or prohibition at all on consumption of alcoholic beverages. Interestingly, these countries likewise have lower incidences of abuse, lower death rates in automobile accidents, and lower arrest rates for alcohol-related offenses than in the US. Both Canada and Mexico, as examples, have legal 18-year old drinking age laws, and have abuse indices well below those in the US. Likewise, the Italians, Chinese, German, Austrian, and French have for years allowed for younger adults to purchase and consume alcohol. Again, social and criminal problems among 18-21 year olds in these countries are much smaller in number and severity as opposed to those in the US. Sociological and psychological researchers studying this problem attribute the difference to the various countries' accepted methods for mentoring "acceptable" behavior." Their premise is that we in the US tend to rely on the force of law as a deterrent to bad behavior, rather than our families teaching acceptable behavior...