CalendarZ

    • English English
    • español español
    • français français
    • português português
    • русский русский
    • العربية العربية
    • 简体中文 简体中文
  • Home
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • On This Day
  • Tools
    • Date converter
    • Age Calculator
  1. Home
  2. On This Day
  3. July
  4. 17
  5. National Minimum Drinking Age Act

Events on July 17 in history

National Minimum Drinking Age Act
1984Jul, 17

The national drinking age in the United States was changed from 18 to 21.

The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 (23 U.S.C. § 158) was passed by the United States Congress and was later signed into law by President Ronald Reagan on July 17, 1984. The act would punish any state that allowed persons under 21 years to purchase alcoholic beverages by reducing its annual federal highway apportionment by 10 percent. The law was later amended, lowering the penalty to 8 percent from fiscal year 2012 and beyond.Despite its name, this act did not outlaw the consumption of alcoholic beverages by those under 21 years of age, just their purchase. However, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Vermont, and the District of Columbia extended the law into an outright ban. The minimum purchase and drinking ages is a state law, and most states still permit "underage" consumption of alcohol in some circumstances. In some states, no restriction on private consumption is made, while in other states, consumption is only allowed in specific locations, in the presence of consenting and supervising family members, as in the states of Colorado, Maryland, Montana, New York, Texas, West Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The act also does not seek to criminalize alcohol consumption during religious occasions (e.g., communion wines, Kiddush).

The act was expressly upheld as constitutional in 1987 by the United States Supreme Court in South Dakota v. Dole.

References

  • National Minimum Drinking Age Act

Choose Another Date

Events on 1984

  • 7Jan

    Association of Southeast Asian Nations

    Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
  • 5Jun

    Indira Gandhi

    The Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, orders an attack on the Golden Temple, the holiest site of the Sikh religion.
  • 4Aug

    Burkina Faso

    The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
  • 20Sep

    Beirut

    A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
  • 26Sep

    Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong

    The United Kingdom and China agree to a transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong, to take place in 1997.

About CalendarZ

CalendarZ

In addition of showing the dates of significant holidays and events; CalendarZ enables you easily check out the time remaining to a certain date and all other details.

Our Partners

WoWDeals : All Deals in One Place

Quick Navigation

  • Home
  • Upcoming Holidays
  • Religious Holidays
  • National Holidays
  • Other Days
  • Blog
  • Age Calculator
  • On This Day

© 2025 CalendarZ. All Rights Reserved. Contact Us / Privacy Policy

English   |   español   |   français   |   português   |   русский   |   العربية   |   简体中文