Minimum Drinking Age
In 1984, Congress passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act (NMDAA), punishing States that allowed individuals below the age of 21 to purchase or publicly possess alcohol. Before that, the drinking age varied from State to State. The Act was promoted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) because of the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents that occurred among 18 to 21 year olds. The NMDAA still left the minimum legal drinking age to the discretion of the States, in accordance with the Twenty-First Amendment to the Constitution, which, after the repeal of Prohibition, restored the power of each State to…
