The national drinking age at one point was 18. I strongly agree that it should go back, believing it would be more beneficial than consequential. The advantage of lowering the drinking age would be to reduce excessive alcohol consumption among minors and young adults, which are overall risky and dangerous behaviors. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Most states have always set the drinking age at 21. After the voting age was lowered to 18 with the 26th Amendment in 1971, many states also lowered the drinking age to 18, 19, and 20. However, in 1984, a car full of teenagers left their home state and drove through South Dakota because it was legal for 19-year-olds to buy beer there. This led Congress to pass the National Minimum Drinking Age Act, which states that states that have not raised the minimum drinking age to 21 will lose 5 percent of federal highway funding. Some states were reluctant, but eventually agreed to do it. Today, all states comply with that federal law, although the penalties for people under 21 caught with alcohol, or for people serving alcohol to young adults, vary from state to state. The 21 laws are not strictly enforced, and studies show that it is quite easy for teenagers to obtain alcohol, even if through a fake ID, a family member or a friend who is over 21. This shows that even with the federal law in place, alcohol still finds its way into the hands of young people. Several strategies have been implemented to combat this problem. The University of Pennsylvania, for example, requires all student groups, on and off campus, to register their social events with the university. If these students intend to serve alcohol, they are required to hire professional bartenders and security guards to check IDs upon entry. Any unregistered parties will be closed immediately. These requirements can be expensive, costing as much as $90 an hour. Making parties prohibitively expensive to host in accordance with university policy will only push them further off campus, and underage students who wish to drink will go further than necessary to do so. This ultimately shows that this policy may not be very effective, as it will encourage students to go elsewhere and potentially binge drink alcohol without any control. Many experts believe that alcohol consumption may be more harmful to young adults. Research shows that a maturing adolescent's brain can tolerate more alcohol with delayed effects than that of an adult. Consumed even in small quantities, alcohol can affect brain development in young people and, in large quantities, can cause permanent brain damage. This can cause teens to make risky decisions and pose a danger to themselves and others. A study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 22 percent of young drivers involved in fatal traffic crashes between 2005 and 2014 had consumed alcohol and that 64 percent of young drivers who had been drinking and who died in road accidents in 2014 were rampant. This research shows that teen drivers under the influence are less likely to use seat belts. However, there are experts who also argue that the age should be lowered, as it could potentially put an end to, 100(6), 986-992.