Enforcing the legal drinking age goes a long way toward keeping young people safe. Minimum Legal Drinking Age (MLDA) laws have been shown to reduce alcohol-related crashes and associated injuries among 18- to 20-year-old drivers. All states currently have an MLDA of 21 years.

Some additional resources:

• The Centers for Disease Control issued a Fact Sheet on MLDA in 2012. 

• In its online Facts About Youth and Alcohol, the American Medical Association has a section focused on MLDA.  The information can be found at this link.

• Youth who begin drinking before age 15 years are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence and are two and a half times more likely to become abusers of alcohol than those who begin drinking at age 21.¹