United press international reported on April 3 that there are Southern states which are considering legislation which would lower the drinking age. It stands right now the drinking age is 21 across to the United States.

There are federal laws in place that penalize any state which does not have a 21 age limit on drinking. The federal government withholds a percentage of highway funding because of the lower drinking age.Missouri, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Vermont have all had bills introduced which would lower the drinking age from 21 to 18. This would affect all residents of these states. The bills filed in South Carolina, Wisconsin, and Kentucky would only affect those people in the military.

There are many people who agree with the military only bill. They argue that if an 18-year-old is able to die for their country, they should be able to drink. One constituent argued instead of lowering the drinking age maybe they should raise the enlistment age. There is a great deal of controversy going on about these bills at the present time. Either way, allowing more people to drink at a younger age will definatley increase the rates of alcohol abuse in the states.

It is the concern of many people that this new bill will not only increase the rates of alcohol abuse in America, but also cause more addiction treatment facilities to become crowded as more young adults develop real problems with alcohol. Young adults from the ages of 21-25 are the highest group presently in alcohol rehab. Lowering the drinking age will only allow these people to drink sooner, and develop addictions at a more impressionable age when it is more difficult to seek addiction treatment.

Right now across America most states register DUI infractions when the blood alcohol content is between .08% and .10%. Lowering the drinking age will definately increase the number of DUIs. It will be interesting to keep an eye on these bills. It will also be interesting to see if the states lower the blood alcohol content levels for a DUI. If so, the number of DUI’s will certainly increase profoundly.