From Ale to Inhale: A Long Running Debate
- Details
- Category: Logan Cash
- Published on Tuesday, 19 October 2010 15:56
- Written by Logan Cash
On December 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S Constitution repealed the 18th Amendment: prohibition of alcohol. This was the first, and only, time in the United States' history that an Amendment has been repealed.
Next month, in California, America is seeking an opportunity to end prohibition of a less harmful and less addictive substance, THC. Proposition 19 is on the November ballot in California and I would like to voice my outright support. It seems to me that the state with the worst economy in the nation could use a little boost (even from a substance notorious for causing laziness).
Let us look back at the last time our country repealed prohibition. The excuses used by the proponents were: drunkenness, crime, mental illness and poverty. The effects of the 18th Amendment were: drunkenness, crime, mental illness, and poverty. The people, who were originally all for the outlawing of alcohol at the beginning of the 20's, like the Rockefellers, began regretting their support by the early 30's. Citizens felt taxes and government spending would be lower if alcohol was illegal, but thanks to guys like Al Capone, they were terribly mistaken. Government spending doubled as prohibition took hold, and helped fuel the first Great Depression.
Prohibition creates a black-market that competes with an already struggling economy. That is the last thing our nation needs right now.
Nevada has tried to legalize the recreational use of marijuana four times in the last decade. Each time they have come closer and closer, but to no avail. Rhode Island and Washington State have given it a couple of goes as well, but once again they have failed. The problem is the majority of people that actually vote in November are over middle age and white. White people want THC prohibition to end the most out of all ethnicities, yet older people are its largest aggressors. They, the challengers, say marijuana leads to substantial problems in education, relationships, and the workplace. What does alcohol do? Do we, as free adults, not have a choice in the matter?
Alcohol causes spousal abuse, wreckless driving, and hangovers. Drink too much and you will die. Smoke too much pot and you will eat everything in your refrigerator. You actually cannot kill yourself by smoking, eating, and drinking too much of the stuff. Trust me, I know.
Governor Schwarzeneger signed a law, beginning last January, stating that possession under one-ounce merits a citation equivalent to a traffic ticket. Therefore, win or lose, cannabis is still ahead.
