The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):
Footnotes:
"Platform Plank: Dems Want to Lower Drinking Age to 18," www.helenair.com, July 27, 2008
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), "Underage Drinking and the 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) Law," www.madd.org (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
American Medical Association (AMA), "Minimum Legal Drinking Age," www.ama-assn.org (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
Annie Chiappetta, "Should Drinking Age Be 18?," www.abcnews.com, Apr. 14, 2005
Choose Responsibiltiy, "FAQs," www.chooseresponsibility.org (accessed Mar. 28, 2012)
Thomas S. Dee and William N. Evans, "Behavioral Policies and Teen Traffic Safety," American Economic Review, May 2001
Peter Asch and David T. Levy, "Young Driver Fatalities: The Roles of Drinking Age and Drinking Experience," Southern Economic Journal, Oct. 1990
"Alcohol Impaired Driving," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, www.nhtsa.gov, 2009
Barry M. Sweedler, "The Worldwide Decline in Drinking and Driving: Has It Continued?," Presentation for the 15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety in Stockholm (Sweden), www.ntsb.gov, May 2000
Jeffrey A. Miron and Elina Tetelbaum, "The Dangers of the Drinking Age," Forbes, Apr. 15, 2009
Charlie Covey, "Drinking Age Requires Necessary and Proper Action," www.youthfacts.org, Nov. 11, 2007
Will Wilkinson, "Bottoms Up!," Forbes, Sep. 29, 2008
"The Commercial Value of Underage and Pathological Drinking to the Alcohol Industry," National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, May 2006
Mark Kleiman, "Of Amethysts and Fake ID's," Aug. 20, 2008
M. Wolfson, A. Wagenaar, and G. Hornseth, "Law Officers' Views on Enforcement of the Minimum Drinking Age: A Four-State Study," www.hcbi.nlm.nih.gov, July 1995
Alexander C. Wagenaar and Traci L. Toomey, "Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000," Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 2002
US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), "Dangers of Teen Drinking," www.dontserveteens.gov (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
Birckmayer J and Hemenway D, "Minimum-age Drinking Laws and Youth Suicide, 1970 –1990," American Journal of Public Health, 1999
American Academy of Pediatrics, "Policy Statement--Alcohol Use by Youth and Adolescents: A Pediatric Concern," Pediatrics, Apr. 12, 2010
US Department of Human Health and Services (DHHS), "The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking," www.hhs.gov, 2007
James C. Fell, "An Examination of the Criticisms of the Minimum Legal Drinking Age 21 Laws in the United States from a Traffic-safety Perspective," www.udetc.org, Oct. 2008
Kathryn Stewart, "How Alcohol Outlets Affect Neighborhood Violence," Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (accessed Mar. 28, 2012)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "Traffic Safety Facts," nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov, 2008
"Results of the 2007 National Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers," National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, July 2009
Bettina Friese and Joel W. Grube, "Youth Drinking Rates and Problems: A Comparison of European Countries and the United States," Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 2010
Honorable Ralph Guy Jr., "Ref. Civil No. 8-73015 and Civil No. 8-73159," US District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southem Division, Detroit, Michigan, Dec. 22, 1978
Carl F. Pieper, et al., "Effect of Legal Drinking Age on Fatal Injuries of Adolescents and Young Adults," American Journal of Public Health, 1992
Alexander C. Wagenaar, et al., "Where and How Adolescents Obtain Alcoholic Beverages," Public Health Reports, 1993
Alexander C. Wagenaar, et al., "Public Opinion on Alcohol Policies in the United States: Results from a National Survey," Journal of Public Health Policy, 2000
Joseph Carroll, "Most Americans Oppose Lowering Legal Drinking Age to 18 Nationwide," www.gallup.com, July 27, 2007
Rhonda Jones-Webb, "Why and in What Context Adolescents Obtain Alcohol from Adults: A Pilot Study," Substance Use and Misuse, 1997
"Youth Access to Alcohol," Alcohol Epidemiology Program at the University of Minnesota (accessed Mar. 22, 2012)
"Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings," Department of Health and Human Services, Sep. 2008
James C. Fell, "Drinking Age 21: Facts, Myths and Fictions," American Association for Automotive Medicine, 1985
Denise Kandel, et al., "Stages of Progression in Drug Involvement from Adolescence to Adulthood: Further Evidence for the Gateway Theory," Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 1992
Peter O'Malley and Alexander C. Wagenaar, "Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws on Alcohol Use, Related Behaviors, and Traffic Crash Involvement Among American Youth: 1976-1987," Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 1991
J.H. Hedlund, R.G. Ulmer, and D.F. Preusser, "Determine Why There Are Fewer Young Alcohol Impaired Drivers," www.nhtsa.dot.gov, Sep. 2001
"Age of Majority," www.youthrights.net (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
Patrick O'Malley and Alexander C. Wagenaar, "Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Effects on American Youth," Institute for Social Research, www.monitoringthefuture.org, 1990
Alexander Wagenaar and Traci Toomey, "Illegal Alcohol Sales to Obviously Intoxicated Patrons at Licensed Establishments," Alcohol Clinical Experimental Research, 2004
David Eby, "The Convicted Drunk Driver in Michigan: A Profile of Offenders," UMTRI Research Review, 1995
Lise Anglin, et. al., "A Study of Impaired Drivers Stopped by Police in Sudbury, Ontario," Toronto: Addiction Research Foundation, 1997
Mary A. O'Donnell, "Research on Drinking Locations of Alcohol-impaired Drivers: Implications for Prevention Policies," Journal of Public Health Policy,1985
Sources:
Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS), "Underage Possession of Alcohol," "Underage Consumption of Alcohol," and "Underage Purchase of Alcohol," wwww.alcoholpolicy.niaaa.nih.gov (accessed June 4, 2009)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "Age 21 Minimum Legal Drinking Age," www.cdc.gov (accessed June 5, 2009)
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Alcohol Policies Project, "Fact Sheet: Lowering the Minimum Drinking Age Is a Bad Idea," www.cspinet.org, Feb. 1998
David J. Hanson, "Drinking Alcohol in Moderation: Better Health and Longer Life," www2.potsdam.edu (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
David J. Hanson, "It's Better to Teach Safe Use of Alcohol," www2.potsdam.edu (accessed Oct. 20, 2010)
Digital History, "Prohibition," www.digitalhistory.uh.edu (accessed June 9, 2009)
J.H. Hedlund, R.G. Ulmer, and D.F. Preusser, "Determine Why There Are Fewer Young Alcohol Impaired Drivers," www.nhtsa.dot.gov, Sep. 2001
Justin Pope, "College Presidents Want Lower Drinking Age," New York Sun, Aug. 19, 2008
National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA), "Traffic Safety Facts 2002," www.nhtsa.dot.gov, 2002
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), "Alcohol's Damaging Effects on the Brain," Alcohol Alert, Oct. 2004
National Youth Rights Association (NYRA), "Drinking Age," www.youthrights.org (accessed June 3, 2009)
R.L. Douglass, L.D. Filkins, and F.A. Clark, "The Effect of Lower Legal Drinking Ages on Youth Crash Involvement," www.deepblue.lib.umich.edu, June 1974
Stephen Cucchiaro, Joseph Ferreira, Jr., and Alan Sicherman, "The Effect of the 18-Year Old Drinking Age on Auto Accidents," www.dspace.mit.edu, May 1974
"Why Do Teenagers Drink Alcohol?," www.another24.com, Jan. 18, 2010
