“Drink responsibly” is what many alcohol-making companies are now promoting in their advertisements and even on the cans and bottles that the beverage is contained in. The government believes that the “responsible” age to consume alcohol is 21. The truth is drinking alcohol irresponsibly is the cause for many undesired events. Alex Wagenaar and Mark Wolfson (1994) state that “underage alcohol use results in substantial premature deaths, disability, preventable hospitalizations, fiscal costs, and human suffering” (p.37). The legal drinking age is and should remain at 21. Lowering the legal drinking age will cause more deaths and injuries upon teenagers. Alex Wagenaar is a professor of Health Outcomes and Policy at the University Of Florida College Of Medicine. In 1999, Wagenaar received the Jellinek Award for lifetime achievement in community intervention and policy evaluation research on alcohol. He has published in many books and over 160 scientific journals about many civic and economic issues. (“Alexander Wagenaar”, n.d.) In his academic journal, “Effects of an Increase in the Legal Minimum Drinking Age”, Alexander Wagenaar attacks the idea of lowering the legal drinking age. He shares facts and studies that show why it is safer for the legal drink age to remain at 21. Wagenaar also talks about a period of time when the legal drinking age was eighteen in the 1970’s, but eventually raised to 21. At one point in some states the legal drinking age was lowered to 18. It all started in 1970 when the 26th amendment of the US Constitution was passed by Congress. This amendment allowed those from ages 18 to 21 to participate in federal votes. Within 3 years all 50 states extended the chance to vote in state elections to 18-21 year olds. Alexander Wagenaar (1981) stated that “more than half of the states also reduced their minimum legal drinking ages for alcoholic beverages extending the rights and privileges previously reserved for adults twenty one and over to youths aged eighteen to twenty” (p.206). Some states thought that lowering the voting age requirement meant that it was also acceptable to lower the legal drinking age. In 1975 the idea of a lower drinking age came to a halt, Wagenaar (1981) states that “evidence began to accumulate that lowered drinking ages resulting increased alcohol-related problems, particularly traffic accidents, among the eighteen-to-twenty year-old population” (p.206). The age requirement was raised back to 21 and since then no state has attempted to lower their legal drinking age back to 18. Wagenaar shares the situation that occurred in Michigan. The state of Michigan reduced their legal drinking age from 21 to 18 and went in effect January 1, 1972. As the years went on studies had shown negative occurrences that can all be tied back to the lowering of the legal drinking age. Wagenaar(1981) states that, “subsequent research revealed that alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes increased from 15% to 25% following the reduction in drinking age in Michigan” (206). A possible reason for this being is because more teenagers were able to consum