Raising the minimum legal drinking age, or MLDA, has always been the subject of debate and controversy. While some say that 18 years of age is already an appropriate age to be drinking, some stress that drinking below the age of 21 is dangerous.

According to a study done by its corresponding author Richard A. Grucza, an epidemiologist at Washington University School of Medicine, MLDA laws save lives that of young people and those throughout the life course.

Grucza and his colleagues have observed that the rates of alcohol and drug use disorders among adults for both men and women are higher for those who were born in the states of America that allowed alcohol sales to youth under the age of 21.

In addition, other shorter-term studies found that the rates of DUI accidents, other drinking behaviors, suicides, and homicides were higher in states with lower drinking ages.

With these data in light, Grucza and his co-authors used date from the U.S. Multiple Cause of Death files from 1990 to 2004, along with data on living populations from the U.S. Census and American Community Survey. Having gathered the data, they discovered that there are more than 200,000 suicides and 130,000 homicides for individuals who turned 18 between the years 1967 and 1989 - years wherein the legal drinking ages were in flux.

Because of this, they concluded that the youth who lived in states with lower drinking ages remain at elevated risk for suicide and homicide as adults, bearing that in mind, the authors estimated that the national drinking age of 21 years may be preventing approximately 600 suicides and homicides yearly.

Explaining the increased cases of suicide and homicide, Grucza said that for homicide, lower drinking ages result in elevated rates of alcohol-fueled domestic violence, and that both men and women and their partners could contribute to domestic-violence situations. For suicide, on the other hand, alcohol contributes to the severity of suicide attempts, tipping the balance by turning attempts into completions more often.

According to CSPINet.org, lowering the minimum drinking age is a bad idea, citing different data and cases:

- A study of New York college students documented that students who began drinking at younger ages were more likely to drink heavily in college, along with an increased report of alcohol-related problems

- State motor vehicle fatality data from 48 continental states found that there was an 11% increase in fatalities when the legal age for drinking was lowered from 21 to 18 in the 1970s

- Michigan study found that police reports of those who crashed because of drinking increased by 35%, while nighttime single-vehicle crashes among young men increased by 17% after the state reduced the drinking age from 21 to 18