“Raising the minimum purchase age for alcohol to 21 throughout the country has been a successful strategy for reducing alcohol use and preventing related problems” (Levy, Miller, Cox, 1999, p. 1). According to the U.S. Department of Justice, since 1975, minimum purchase age laws have prevented more than 17,000 traffic fatalities (Levy, et al, 1999). To focus on the growing cost to society associated with underage drinking, Congress appropriated $50 million over a two-year period to the Department of Justice’s Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to fund the Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program (McKinney

Underage drinking is a major problem for many of today's youth. It can lead to lifelong alcoholism and eventually death. Alcoholism is an equal opportunity affliction; it does not single out one race, age, or religion. It affects the children of lawyers, doctors and business tycoons the same as it does the children of factory workers. Levy states “Many effective prevention and enforcement strategies have been developed that can be applied more broadly and more vigorously to reduce the enormous costs; if we are to make further progress, we must make preventing underage drinking a high social and political priority” (Levy et al, 1999).

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 18,000 young lives have been saved by minimum drinking-age laws (NHTSA, 1998). “Seven out of ten respondents believed that stiffer punishments for teenagers caught drinking would discourage them from obtaining alcohol. “Most favored a one-year license suspension, while the rest supported a penalty of 20 hours of community service” (Alters, 2002, p. 108). According to Alters, adults providing alcohol to teens are responsible for problems associated with teen drinking. Eighty-three percent supported penalties for adults who provide alcohol to underage drinker�

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