Notes+and+Sources

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Whelan, Elizabeth M. "Perils of prohibition." //Newsweek// 29 May 1995: 14. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 31 Mar. 2010.
 * " 18 yr. olds can drive cars. fly planes, marry, vote, pay taxes, take out loans and risk their lives as members of **//the//** U.S. armed forces. But laws in all 50 states say that no alcoholic beverages may **//be//** sold **//to//** anyone until that magic 21st birthday. We didn't always have a national "21" rule"
 * "American teens, unlike their European peers, don't learn how **//to//** drink gradually, safely and in moderation. "
 * "We **//should//** make access **//to//** alcohol legal at **//18//**. At **//the//** same time, we **//should//** come down much harder on alcohol abusers and drunk drivers of all **//ages//**. We **//should//** intensify our efforts at alcohol education for adolescents. We want them **//to//** understand that it is perfectly OK not **//to//** drink. But if they do, alcohol **//should//** **//be//** consumed in moderation. "

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nfh&AN=2W63395635143&site=src-live Wright, Jerome
 * "Organizations such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) say absolutely not."
 * "They cite a 13 percent drop in traffic fatalities involving drivers **//age//** 18 to 20 since laws setting **//the//** **//drinking//** **//age//** at 21 went into effect a generation ago. To them, that makes any consideration of reducing **//the//** legal **//drinking//** **//age//** dubious."
 * "About 25 years ago, Congress pushed **//the//** states to raise **//the//** minimum **//drinking//** **//age//** to 21. States that failed to do so would lose 10 percent of their federal highway funding."
 * 

[] //USA TodayMAS Ultra - School Edition//
 * "Would an age 18 minimum curb alcohol abuse." //USA Today// n.d.: //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.
 * **//The//** pro-18 argument goes like this: If 18-year-olds are allowed to vote and serve in **//the//** military, they ought to be able to drink. **//The//** **//age//** 21 minimum simply undermines respect for **//the//** law and prevents young people from learning to drink responsibly at home before they get to college. Once they arrive, **//the//** 21 law prevents them from imbibing sociably in restaurants or bars. Instead, students huddle in dorm rooms or fraternity and sorority houses, where they tend to binge on "forbidden fruit" and harm themselves or others.
 * These arguments are not without merit. **//The//** pro-18 case, however, runs aground over **//the//** inconvenient truth about highway deaths. In **//the//** early 1970s, many states lowered **//the//** **//drinking//** **//age//** to 18 to accommodate Vietnam War veterans, but when alcohol-related highway deaths rose, states went back to 21.
 * Despite **//the//** minimum **//drinking//** **//age//** of 21, students of all **//ages//** imbibe, many to excess. **//The//** American Medical Association links **//drinking//** to 1,400 deaths, 500,000 injuries and 70,000 sexual assault cases on campuses every year.

[|//http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=4&hid=113&sid=e590f197-c430-4844-98f7-30acddf41ac6%40sessionmgr112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=ulh&AN=19398593//]

Voas, Robert. "There's no benefit to lowering the drinking age." //Christian Science Monitor// 12 Jan. 2006: 9. //MAS Ultra - School Edition//. EBSCO. Web. 12 May 2010.

And the minimum 21 law, by itself, has most certainly resulted in fewer accidents, because the decline occurred even when there was little enforcement and tougher penalties had not yet been enacted. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the 21 law has saved 23,733 lives since states began raising **//drinking//** ages in 1975

The 21 law is predicated on the fact that **//drinking//** is more dangerous for youth because they're still developing mentally and physically, and they lack experience and are more likely to take risks.

An aver**//age//** of 11 American teens die each day from alcohol-related crashes. Underage **//drinking//** leads to increased teen pregnancy, violent crime, sexual assault, and huge costs to our communities. Among college students, it leads to 1,700 deaths, 500,000 injuries, 600,000 physical assaults, and 70,000 sexual assaults each year.

Do European countries really have fewer youth **//drinking//** problems? No, that's a myth. Compared to American youth, binge **//drinking//** rates among young people are higher in every European country except Turkey. Intoxication rates are higher in most countries; in the Britain, Denmark, and Ireland they're more than twice the US level. Intoxication and binge **//drinking//** are directly linked to higher levels of alcohol-related problems, such as **//drinking//** and driving.