Teenage Drinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Teenage Drinking - Essay ExampleOne argument for juvenile drinking is based on the fact that at the age of 18 individuals are already legal gravids and can marry or get married, relieve oneself a say in elections through voting, adopt children, drive vehicles, acquire abortions, serve on juries, fly airplanes, hold important public offices, serve imprisonment and even capital punishment and sue or be sued in court, yet they can non drink until they are 21 years old. This can only be termed as hypocrisy especially considering that one acquires a driving permission at 16 years and can be entrusted with a gun for hunting at the tender age of 12 years while they cannot be entrusted with drinking (Hanson). There is also the view that prohibition of teenage drinking in public places has resulted in teenagers hiding and drinking in unsupervised places and maximising such opportunities through binge drinking which has far serious wellness effects. Lowering the drinking age may have the effect of removing the taboo iota on alcoholic drink and thus remove the thrill that drives teenagers towards alcohol and breaking the law. This will result in reduced binge drinking and moderate teenage alcohol consumption (ProCon). Bryson weighs in on the debate with the view that at the age of 18 one can not only represent the surface area in war but also work at a beer/wine/liquor distillery besides owning a bar among numerous new(prenominal) adult rights and freedoms such as paying taxes, act and access pornography, engage in commercial sex activities in some states, sign legal contracts and act upon for most political offices while being forbidden to drink. This is tantamount to treating the adults of 18-20 years as second class citizens. Besides all these, the drinking restriction has not served its purpose as evidenced by the amount of unstoppable drinking occurring at college level. Studies also indicate that there are no significant differences in harm caused by alco hol between an 18 year old and a 21 year old. Arguments against Teenage Drinking Alcohol drinking has been shown to have serious medical complications in teenagers especially when they engage in binge drinking. These include brain damage which is a consequence of the neurotoxicity of consumption of large amounts of alcohol and fears are that such brain damage may be irreversible. Comparative studies indicate that drinking teenagers have impaired memory and limited cognitive skills as compared to non-drinking ones. Teenagers brain is not structurally fully developed hence teenagers are at higher risks of damage in comparison to adult brains (IAS 3 CADCA 1 Trudeau). Johnson (2) identifies alcohol as a major contributor to juvenile delinquency stating that such teenagers are more likely to bear guns and otherwise weaponry, damage property, commit rape and assault among other violent conduct and illegal acts. A closely related consequence of teenage drinking is savory in abuse of othe r drugs including drugs such as marijuana, inhalants, cocaine and smoking (CDC Factsheet Hitti). Such drugs not only create problems with the law but also health and mental problems alongside drop in performance in schools. This is a scenario which results in cross-over youths which referring to youths causing concerns across multiple systems such as counseling, juvenile fell justice, education and health.