Should drinking age be lowered to 18?

Rates of heavy drinking among college students have fluctuated very little since the federal legislation was passed.

No: It's Not Safe for Youth, nor on the Roads
By William DeJong

Talk to my public health colleagues about the proposal to lower the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) to 18, and this is what you'll hear: "I can't believe we're even talking about this."

We would tell them that safe driving requires physical maturity and coordination, knowledge of rules of the road, driving experience mat we won't give them because they're not ready, and emotional maturity that they don't have.

According to the University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future study, the answer is no.

When the death toll mounted, Congress passed legislation in 1984 to pressure the states to adopt an age-21 law, which has saved thousands of lives.

Actually, there's no evidence that drinking in moderation damages developing brains.