Speak Up! - View Question #512
« LawForKids.org home page | « Go back to speak up question #512

Question: Was there ever a time when the drinking age was 18 years? If so, when?

Answer: Before 1986, some U.S. states had a drinking age of 21 and some had a drinking age of 18. State governments in each of the 50 US states, not the federal government, control the minimum drinking age. However, the federal government can force states into adopting certain laws.

In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Purchase Age Act, to encourage each state to institute a minimum legal purchase age (MLPA) of 21 by 1986. This act made it nearly impossible for states to receive funding from the federal government for construction of highways if the minimum legal drinking age was under 21. Since all states depend on the federal government for highway funding (which equals Billions of dollars each year) all US states enacted minimum drinking ages of 21.

Today, the minimum drinking age in all 50 US states is 21 years of age.

The main federal acts concerned with alcoholic beverages are:

Title 27 of the United States Code (Federal Law)

The Federal Alcohol Administration Act, at 27 USC §§201 - 207

The Federal Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act, at 27 USC §§213 - 219a.

Comments
26 thru 30 of 56 comments
On 10/13/03
courtney from OH said:
Change the age? no either way pepole will still find a way to drink. they might have an older friend or relitive to buy for them.
On 10/07/03
James from MI said:
As far as I'm concerned, if the person in question is an adult than he/she should have the priviledge of buying whatever they wan't as long as it's a legal substance (like cigarettes or alchohol). How often does a person tell an adult "hey, I know your an adult but you can't have a beer"? Like I said, they're adults, not children, and adults should not be limited in this fashon.
On 09/25/03
AdrianBusse from SD said:
THe United States is the only country in the world that has a drinking age of 21; it's ridiculous...give it up- it's crazy to make a law on a substance... I lived abroad for nine months in Italy, and the times I drank to get drunk were when my American friends from the age of 15-22 came to visit me...This law is making kids and adults go crazy...give it up The United States is so contradicting...let it go...
On 09/18/03
kieran from Othe said:
hey i come from nottingham in england and i have been drinking since i was 12 at partys(especially new year) and i think that american rules suck! u need to lower the drinking age
On 08/05/03
Cantiflas from CA said:
If 18 year olds are allowed to make decisions in a jury, then they are responsible enough to be able to drink alcohol.
26 thru 30 of 56 comments


Read more about the law and Illegal Substances
Related Stories
Related Laws
« LawForKids.org home page | « Go back to speak up question #512