National Minimum Drinking Age Act

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This article is about the US federal law. For other meanings, see drinking age.
National Minimum Drinking Age Act
Great Seal of the United States.
Enacted by the
98th United States Congress
Effective July 17, 1984
Citations
Public Law 98-363
Title(s) amended 23
U.S.C. sections created 158
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the Senate as S.AMDT.3334 to H.R.4616 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) on June 26, 1984
  • Passed the House of Representatives on April 30, 1984 (voice vote)
  • Passed the Senate on June 26, 1984 (voice vote) with amendment
  • House of Representatives agreed to Senate amendment on June 27, 1984 (unanimous consent)
  • Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984
Codification

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. § 158) was passed on July 17, 1984 by the United States Congress as a mechanism whereby all states would become thereafter required to legislate the age of 21 years as a minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages. Under the Federal Aid Highway Act, a state with a minimum age below 21 would be subjected to a ten percent decrease in its annual federal highway apportionment.[1]

While this act did not outlaw the consumption of alcoholic beverages by those under 21 years of age, seven states and Washington D.C. extended its provisions into an outright ban. These states are: Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. The minimum drinking age is a state law. However, most states still permit "underage" consumption of alcohol in some circumstances. In some states, no restriction on private consumption is made, while in others, consumption is only allowed in specific locations, in the presence of consenting and supervising family members as in the states of California, Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New York, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The act also does not seek to criminalize alcohol consumption during religious occasions; (e.g. communion wines, Kiddush).

Contents

History [edit]

Legislation concerning the legal minimum drinking age in the United States can be traced back to the days of prohibition. In 1920, the 18th amendment to the U.S. Constitution declared it illegal to manufacture, transport, or sell intoxicating liquors.[2] This was repealed with the passing of the 21st amendment in 1933, which was followed by the adoption of minimum legal drinking age policies in all states, with most states electing a minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 21.[2] Between 1970 and 1975, 29 states lowered the MLDA from 21 to 18, 19, or 20. This was primarily due to the passing of the 26th Amendment which lowered the required voting age from 21 to 18.[2]

However, these changes were soon followed by studies showing an increase in motor vehicle fatalities attributable to the decreased MLDA. In response to these findings, many states raised the minimum legal drinking age to 19 (and sometimes to 20 or 21).[2] In 1984, the National Minimum Legal Drinking Act, written by Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and influenced by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), required all states to enforce a minimum legal drinking age of 21 or else risk losing 10% of all federal highway construction funds. As the minimum legal drinking age was still left to the discretion of the state, the act did not violate the 10th amendment, meant to reserve all responsibilities not specifically appointed to the federal government for the states.[2] However, as the act controlled the distribution of anywhere from 8 to 99 million dollars, depending on the size of the state, for all intents and purposes the act mandated a minimum legal drinking age of 21.[2] By 1995, all 50 states and DC were in compliance, but Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands (and Guam until 2010) remained at 18 despite the loss of highway funding.

Legal circles noted that the Roberts Court ruling in NFIB v. Sebelius, though upholding South Dakota v. Dole, had serious implications for the future of the NMDA.[3]


The Conservative Party of New York opposed the passage of the law in 1984. In 2001, according to the same article, New York State Assembly member Felix Ortiz introduced a bill that would lower the drinking age back to 18. He cited unfairness and difficulty with enforcement as his motivations.[4]

In 1998, the National Youth Rights Association was founded, in part, to seek to lower the drinking age back to 18. In 2004, the president of Vermont's Middlebury College, John McCardell, Jr. wrote in The New York Times that "the 21-year-old drinking age is bad social policy and terrible law" that has made the college drinking problem far worse.[5] Groups that oppose the 21 minimum include Choose Responsibility, the Amethyst Initiative, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.

A key cluster of philosophical opposition to the minimum lies in the natural human need for education and experience; young adults do not receive the opportunity to educate themselves and drink responsibly before the age of 21. A related line of thought emphasizes the importance of individual rights and freedoms.[2] Another cluster comes from pragmatism, emphasizing the reality that young people are unlikely to stop drinking, and point to statistics on underage drinking as a reason to institute a lower drinking age, which would provide the opportunity to help "young people learn to make healthy and responsible choices." [2] Social environmental theories are also cited; making alcohol a forbidden fruit may encourage more dangerous drinking than would occur if the drinking age were lowered.[6][7] With a lower drinking age, young people would have access to "publicly moderated drinking environments", rather than "model their behavior after the excessive consumption typical of private student parties",[8] though the perception of excessive drinking on college campuses is often overstated.[8]

Carpenter[6] questioned the motives of alcohol industry, which would reap profits from an additional estimated 4.56 million drinks if the drinking age were lowered to 18. When brewing magnate Pete Coors raised the drinking age as a campaign issue during the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Colorado, Republican leaders praised his stand on States' rights but distanced themselves from apparent self-interest.[9][10]

Relevant statistics [edit]

The following statistics are examples of the kinds of findings which led to the passing of the National Minimum Legal Drinking Act, and the increase in the MLDA for many states:

  • 67% of nighttime motor vehicle accidents involve alcohol consumption.[6]
  • A 17% increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents was observed for drivers age 18-20 when the minimum legal drinking age was set to 18; Similarly, an 11% increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents was observed for drivers age 21-24. Researchers observed a 12.2% increase in fatal motor vehicle accidents when drivers reached the age of 21.[6]
  • As self-reported by students age 18-20, a minimum legal drinking age of 18 increased heavy episodic drinking by 3.4% and increased instances of drinking in the past month by 17.4%.[6]
  • A survey conducted among alcohol-consuming college students revealed that 32% of heavy drinkers were underage.[11]
  • A 10% increase in the number of suicides among 18-20 year olds was observed when the minimum legal drinking age was set to 18. In general, suicide increased by 20.3% when individuals turned 21.[6]
  • There was a 1% increase in the number of emergency room visits when individuals turned 21, and a 3% increase in the number of hospital stays for the same age group.[6]
  • In 2006, the number of alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities was 13,990. This was an increase of 2.8% since 2005, and represents the largest number of motor vehicle fatalities in a single year since 1992.[12]

Application on college campuses [edit]

College campuses across the nation continue to struggle with issues of underage drinking, despite the nationwide MLDA of 21. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) took special interest in this issue, and compiled a list of recommendations for colleges to implement in order to combat underage drinking on campus. However, few schools have actually implemented these recommendations, and according to a recent study, most of the intervention programs currently in place on college campuses have proven ineffective.[13]

Of the colleges surveyed, 98% offered alcohol education programs to their students. Only 50% of surveyed colleges offered intervention programs, 33% coordinated efforts with the surrounding community to monitor illegal alcohol sales, 15% confirmed that surrounding establishments offered responsible beverage service training, and 7% restricted the number of alcohol outlets within the community. Special services for "problem drinkers" were available at 67% of the surveyed schools; 22% of the schools referred problem drinkers to off-campus resources, and 11% offered no intervention program whatsoever. 34% of the surveyed schools were located in communities which actively instituted compliance checks, but 60% of these checks occurred without university involvement. One fifth of surveyed schools were all together unaware of the NIAAA's recommendations.[13]

Many factors may explain colleges' failure to implement the NIAAA's recommendations to control underage drinking on campus: a lack of university funding, a lack of time, a perceived lack of authority or jurisdiction within the community, or even a lack of interest on the part of the university. Whatever the reasons may be, a multitude of options are available should colleges choose to institute programs to decrease instances of underage drinking on campus. These options include, but are not limited to, alcohol education programs, social norms campaigns, substance-free housing, individual interventions, parental notification policies, disciplinary procedures for alcohol-related violations, and amnesty policies to protect the health and safety of students.[13]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Title 23 of the United States Code, Highways. (PDF file, see Section 158)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Toomey, Traci L., Toben F. Nelson, and Kathleen M. Lenk (2009). The age-21 minimum legal drinking age: a case study linking past and current debates. Addiction, 104.12, 1958-965.
  3. ^ http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/drinking-age-supreme-court-health-care.php
  4. ^ Lovett, Kenneth. "LET KIDS START DRINKING AT 18: BROOKLYN POL." The New York Post, May 1, 2006.
  5. ^ The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: What Your College President Didn't Tell You
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Carpenter, Christopher, and Carlos Dobkin (2011). The Minimum Legal Drinking Age and Public Health. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 25.2, 133-56.
  7. ^ Ruth C. Engs Forbidden Fruit. Vermont Quarterly, Winter 1999:25 & 47, 1999. [1]
  8. ^ a b Rasul, Jawaid W., Rommel, Robert G., Jacquez, Geoffrey M., Fitzpatrick, Ben G., Ackleh, Azmy S., Simonsen, Neal, Scribner, Richard A. (2011). Heavy Episodic Drinking on College Campuses: Does Changing the Legal Drinking Age Make a Difference? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 72.1, 15-23.
  9. ^ http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2004/jun/24/20040624-121757-9276r/?page=all
  10. ^ http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6089481/ns/politics-tom_curry/t/pivotal-colo-race-focuses-teen-drinking/
  11. ^ Engs, Ruth. "Drinking Practices and Patterns Among Collegians", November, 2003.
  12. ^ The New York Times. "Alcohol-Related Auto Deaths Rise, Report Finds", May, 2007.
  13. ^ a b c Nelson, Toben F., Traci L. Toomey, Kathleen M. Lenk, Darin J. Erickson, and Ken C. Winters (2010). Implementation of NIAAA College Drinking Task Force Recommendations: How Are Colleges Doing 6 Years Later? Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 34.10, 1687-1693. Print.

External links [edit]

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