cannabisnews.com: Smoking Issue





Smoking Issue
Posted by FoM on October 30, 1999 at 10:35:20 PT
Editorial
Source: Sackville Tribune
Marijuana crops have had a bumper year, and police departments across the province are reporting seizures of all sizes. 
And, as reported in the media last week, New Brunswick's top cop says his officers are fighting a David and Goliath-style battle against the booming pot business. RCMP assistant commissioner Tim Quigley listed the societal ills brought on by marijuana use, and how it needs to be stopped. That got us to thinking back to the U.S.'s Prohibition days of the 1920s, and the parallels between it and the war on drugs that rages today. Prohibition not only failed in it goals, but added to the problems it was intended to solve. The law called for all importing, exporting, transporting, selling, and manufacturing of intoxicating liquor to end. The intent was to reduce the consumption of alcohol thereby reducing crime and corruption, and solve social problems. But it was ineffective because it was unenforceable, caused the explosive growth of crime, and actually increased the amount of alcohol consumption. These laws were flagrantly violated by bootleggers and commoners alike. Bootleggers smuggled liquor from oversees and Canada, stole it from government warehouses, and produced their own. Many people hid their liquor in hip flasks, false books, hollow canes, and anything else they could find. There were also illegal speak-easies which replaced saloons after the start of Prohibition. The Prohibitionists hoped it would decrease drunkenness and thereby decrease the crime rate, especially in large cities. Although towards the beginning of Prohibition this purpose seemed to be fulfilled, the crime rate soon skyrocketed to nearly twice that of the pre-Prohibition period. Major crimes such as homicides, and burglaries, increased 24 per cent between 1920 and 1921. Prohibition made alcohol, which previously had been perfectly legal, a crime. The same has been done with marijuana. Those vehemently opposed to the legalization of the drug have posed the question: Would you want the pilot of your flight to be high on pot? Of course, the answer is no. But neither would we want the pilot to be drunk from alcohol, which again is perfectly legal providing one has reached the age of majority. Somewhere in the gray area is the notion of personal responsibility. We are all responsible for how we treat our bodies. What we eat and drink and otherwise ingest. Perhaps it's time the law on marijuana is rethought. August 25, 1999Newshawk: Herb© 1998/99 The Sackville Tribune-Post Ltd.Web site © 1998/99 Tantramar Interactive Related Article:Grass Is Greener At Health Ministry - 10/30/99http://www.cannabisnews.com/news/thread3482.shtml
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