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Reason10 · 70-79, M
The brilliant jurist Robert Bork had an interesting take on that. He said society allowed certain items to take place, because fixing them was too big a pain in the butt.
Automobiles kill, but society will not mandate speed limits of 10 mph because it's not worth the headache.
Prohibition wound up being more trouble than it was worth. It saved very few from whatever toxic effects of alcohol, but the increased organized crime took more lives than the bottle.
The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act were just bad law, period.
There is a rising number of kinda "libertarian" types (including our amazingly centrist PRESIDENT TRUMP) who believe it's time to legalize recreational marijuana.
Of course, we know you can get "medical" marijuana just about any place, and doctors hand out those scripts for anyone who wants one. Thing is, with a regular recreational marijuana business climate (complete with plenty of government regulation to keep that stuff out of schools and away from minors) it could accomplish what repealing Prohibition did. It could take a lot of power away from street corner drug dealers.
Get a license to grow and sell the stuff. Go to jail if you try to sell it without a license. And maybe release all those inmates who were convicted for a crime that no longer exists.
And think about the increased tax revenue, since street corner pushers pay ZERO sales tax.
Automobiles kill, but society will not mandate speed limits of 10 mph because it's not worth the headache.
Prohibition wound up being more trouble than it was worth. It saved very few from whatever toxic effects of alcohol, but the increased organized crime took more lives than the bottle.
The 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act were just bad law, period.
There is a rising number of kinda "libertarian" types (including our amazingly centrist PRESIDENT TRUMP) who believe it's time to legalize recreational marijuana.
Of course, we know you can get "medical" marijuana just about any place, and doctors hand out those scripts for anyone who wants one. Thing is, with a regular recreational marijuana business climate (complete with plenty of government regulation to keep that stuff out of schools and away from minors) it could accomplish what repealing Prohibition did. It could take a lot of power away from street corner drug dealers.
Get a license to grow and sell the stuff. Go to jail if you try to sell it without a license. And maybe release all those inmates who were convicted for a crime that no longer exists.
And think about the increased tax revenue, since street corner pushers pay ZERO sales tax.