MLDA 21 helps prevent underage binge drinking.

Binge drinking peaks among 21- to 25-year-olds at 45.9%, while the binge drinking rates of those aged 12-13, 14-15, 16-17, and 18-20 are 1.5%, 7.8%, 19.4%, and 35.7% respectively.

Lowering MLDA 21 would give high schoolers and even middle schoolers easier access to alcohol.

Newly-legal drinkers often purchase alcohol for their underage peers, creating a "trickle-down" effect. [34] Surveys show that the most common source of alcohol among 18- to 20-year olds is their 21- to 24-year-old peers. [35]

Lowering the drinking age will invite more use of illicit drugs among 18-21 year olds.

A peer-reviewed study from the Journal of Studies of Alcohol and Drugs found that the younger a person begins to drink alcohol the more likely it is that they will use other illicit drugs. [38] Lowering MLDA 21 would increase the number of teens who drink and therefore the number of teens who use other drugs. [37] [39]