Alcohol: Gateway Drug?

It is strongly believed by many people that alcohol is a gateway drug. It is said to be the first drug that is usually used by minors before they move on to more harmful drugs. If this is true, then it is a very serious problem because of all the teens that do in fact drink. It puts them at a very high risk of being exposed to more powerful drugs and messing up their lives.

The reason that alcohol is considered a gateway drug is because it is usually the most available. Because it is legal to own, most teens have some type of alcoholic beverages in their house that is their parents. They can be exposed to it at a very young age. When they do begin to start drinking, which is usually around high school, they don't really see it as something that is all that bad. This could lead them to think that other drugs aren't as bad so they may begin to experiment with those drugs as well. This can lead down a very bad road that many never come off of.

But is alcohol really a gateway drug, or are there other factors that contribute more to "harder" drug use. Alcohol is different from any other drug in that if you drink it responsibly, you won't do any damage to your body. For this reason, I do not believe that it could be put into the category of a gateway drug.

Do age-laws deter drinking?

Although it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to consume an alcoholic beverage outside of their own home, this does nothing to deter the amount of teen drinkers. It seems to encourage more drinking rather than making it less. This poses the question, "Does having the drinking age be 21 actually stop or discourage underage drinking?"

In the United States, underage alcohol abuse is one of the biggest problems among the teens. This is a very serious problem that we face today. The statistic that over 32% of drinkers are underage is astounding. How are all of these teens gaining such easy access to all of this alcohol. The answer is simple, the laws are not be regulated strictly enough. But whose fault is this really? Police have been trying to crack down on it, but it is much to frequent to stop all of them. The parents are the ones that need to talk with their kids about it. But ultimately, it is the fault of the teens if they are drinking and they need to be responsible for their own actions.

Wit all of these underage drinkers getting away with drinking, it raises the question, "do these underage drinking laws actually work?" I would argue that they don't work, actually, it seems they almost encourage more drinking. The rebellious nature of teenagers makes them want to go against the law and do what they want. This means that drinking presents them with a risk that they want to take and will continue to keep taking. If the laws weren't there, would this many kids drink? Or would it not be as "exciting" anymore if they were allowed to and would less of them drink, or at least stop abusing alcohol?

Drinking age and Accidents

The idea of switching the drinking age has both advantages and disadvantages. This issue has been debated for a long time and is still a hot topic throughout the country today, mainly on college campuses.

For those who wish to lower the drinking age down to 18, they claim that it will stop the alcohol abuse that is seen on many college campuses today. The reason for this is that the students are not allowed to go to bars and be socially accepted to drink, so they are forced to hide in their dorms and binge drink which cause much more harm. According to the Choose Responsibility group, if kids were exposed to drinking alcohol legally at a younger age, it would make them less likely to abuse it.

There are also many disadvantages that are prevalent in the drinking age being only 18. When some states used to have it at 18, the rate of highway deaths from drunk driving were very high. The inexperience of new drivers mixed with alcohol is a very bad thing to have. It was shown when the Drinking age was moved back up to 21, the number of these accidents decreased dramatically.

Mid Term Paper

When brainstorming topics to write about, I hit upon a few good ideas. The one that seemed to jump out at me the most was the drinking age. Although this topic is not debated very regularly anymore, I think it is a very important one. Seeing as I myself am almost 18, I think that the drinking age should be lowered to 18 rather than 21 as it is now. This may be viewed by some to be a very bad idea, but I strongly disagree with this and say that it is a good idea.

Some arguments that I think I will use will be that 18 years olds are now adults and should not be restricted in this way. They are able to die in war for their country, vote for the president and other officials, buy and sell real estate, and other things as well. According to the article on the drinking age, it states that 18 year olds, if given all of these other responsibilities and privileges, should not be denied the right to have a drink as well.

This topic is something that I fell pretty strongly about so it will be easier to defend. Also, I think that I will be able to find enough information to back up my views. Many other people that I have read express the same views as me, so I know that I am not standing alone on this issue.