Although this can be a controversial topic, currently in the United States, 18-year-olds can pretty much do anything they want when they turn of age except for drinking.

If someone is grown enough to fight at war or help our country decide who should be president, then most people are developed enough to consume alcohol. In most cases, many become irresponsible with their drinking because they do not want anyone to know.

The level of maturity from age 18 to 21 is not much of a significant difference. If the age is lowered to 18, it may actually cause less issues because not so many kids will be drinking illegally and, in turn, trying to sneak it. When kids try to hide they are drinking, the outcomes could be severely negative if no one wants to call for help if someone has had too much, for fear that they will get in trouble.

It is most common for young adults to start drinking the most when they get to college. If it was legal, the number of underages given out would significantly go down and alcohol could be consumed in public places where those under 21 could be monitored.

No matter what the legal age of drinking may be, it will still not prevent all of the problems that can come with it. If you ask me, alcohol tolerance does not come with age, so no matter how old you are, it does not effect how you can handle your personal alcohol intake.

However old the legal drinking age is, everyone is still advised to stay safe and to watch how much they are consuming and how quickly they care consuming it. By lowering the legal age to drink to 18, it will reduce overall the amount of reckless accidents and the number of those who are alcohol abusers. No matter if it is lowered or not, those who are underage will always find a way to drink, so why not make it legal?

The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the writer and are not representative of The Slate or its staff as a whole

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