WHY 21?

Are you wondering what the deal is with the 21 minimum drinking age law? Sure, it's a law but it doesn't always feel like it.
It's in all 50 states but do people pay attention to it?  You might question why the laws were written with 21 as the minimum drinking age, what's so special about that age, and how the law came to be. 

According to the book Buzzed, the use of alcohol by young people is especially frightening.  We all hear about the dangers and consequences of underage drinking, but most of us know very little about how alcohol affects the brains of young people.

Buzzed says we should look at what we do know about young brains like the fact that they don't finish developing until a person is around 20 years old.  And one of the last regions to mature is intimately involved with the ability to plan and make complex judgements.  Young brains are built to acquire new memories and are "built to learn". 

So in answer to the question "WHY?" the 21 minimum age drinking laws were established to save your brain and your life.

Protecting You/Protecting Me

Protecting You/Protecting Me is an alcohol use prevention curriculum for children in grades 1-5. PY/PM helps reach children before they have fully shaped their attitudes and opinions about alcohol use b youth and their role in preventing it.

MADD School Assemblies

In a flood of fast-paced, powerful imagery, the multi-media assembly programs created by MADD and produced by Educational Entertainment Group utilize the latest DVD technology to produce a sensory experience that will have students talking for days. The audience will be engaged by the poignant stories of real young people, celebrity interviews, clips form major motion pictures, and a contemporary soundtrack, viewed on three giant screens.

Each multi-media show focuses on alcohol and other drug prevention, cutting-edge brain research outlining alcohol's effects on the adolescent brain, and the need for student leadership and activism.

Buzzfree Prom

The MADD BuzzFree Prom was devised to drive student participation in MADD's "PROMise To Keep it Safe" initiative, where students sign a pledge not to use alcohol or other drugs on Prom night.  This is just one of many effective MADD youth programs taking place in more than 30,000 schools nationwide.

Originally launched 2003 in Dallas/Fort Worth as a pilot program, the "positive" peer-pressure program encourages teens to support each other in abstaining from drinking alcohol and using other drugs on Prom night.  Students who sign the pledge receive a BuzzFree ID card to obtain discounts, BuzzFreebies and more from participating businesses during prom season.

THINK

Youth In Action

UMADD