Forever 21

Americans still opposed to lowering drinking age

This article was published on 07.31.14

Public opinion on the legal drinking age in the U.S. hasn’t changed much since 1984, when Ronald Reagan, in an effort to reduce drunken-driving fatalities, signed the bill that would withhold 10 percent of federal highway funding from states that didn’t raise the minimum age to 21. Back then, 79 percent of Americans supported raising the drinking age. Today, despite many experts suggesting that lowering the age to 18 and teaching responsible drinking would help reduce the allure created by forbidding alcohol, opposition to lowering the age remains strong.

Should we lower the drinking age in the U.S. to 18?