Alcohol; should it be illegal in the US?

Reformed2

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My opinion, yes it should. I believe that the federal government gave up on prohibition way too soon. Alcohol is a drug, and a dangerous one at that. It causes all sorts of social problems, and people hurt and even kill one another while under the influence.

I know that there will be those who disagree with that of course, just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts.
:)
 
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RDKirk

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Prohibition laws only work in a society if the great majority of people would behave in that way without them. As scripture says, "Law is for the lawless."

If the great majority of people don't agree with the law, it's not going to work.
 
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Reformed2

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Umm no. I'm Canadian and love my beer...

To your point though, making something illegal does nothing. Hence why the war on drugs is a joke. No statistical change.
Making it legal and taxing it makes it more available. Opiates are popular, should we legalize that as well? What is the threshold of popular, and how destructive is a drug allowed to be?
 
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SnowyMacie

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No, it would not work especially now that people roughly my age are changing the drinking culture in the U.S from being about binge drinking and partying to it just being another beverage, look at the rise of craft beer making and the normalization of bars and pubs, take a look at Buffalo Wild Wings, it's basically a mainstream chain sports bar. There's a popular pub near me that's nobody sees as less of a family place than the Mexican restaurant next door. I think it's due to being two generations separated from prohibition (our grandparents were likely born after the repeal of it) and much more likely to have gone to see other cultures where alcohol is viewed differently. In many ways, most of us don't really see it as different than coffee or tea, and like most things in life, moderation is everything.
 
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ByTheSpirit

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Prohibition is one of the worst eras of the US history. It led to the rise of criminal activity and with our current jail population crisis, such a move would be foolish and ill fated. Plus it would just introduce more government regulation and oversight which is definitely not needed.

There are lots of things that are bad for society, Fast food & Cell phones (when used improperly) to name two. Doesn't mean we just start banning stuff. People need to be responsible and learn self control.

The problem is not alcohol, the problem is the human condition. Jesus died for that. :)
 
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archer75

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My opinion, yes it should. I believe that the federal government gave up on prohibition way too soon. Alcohol is a drug, and a dangerous one at that. It causes all sorts of social problems, and people hurt and even kill one another while under the influence.

I know that there will be those who disagree with that of course, just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts.
:)
If marijuana is illegal, then alcohol should be ten times as illegal.

I'm actually for legalizing recreational substances and building a society where people feel their lives have value and are less likely to abuse such things.

But...makes no sense to have booze available legally while marijuana still lands people in jail.
 
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Reformed2

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Prohibition is one of the worst eras of the US history. It led to the rise of criminal activity and with our current jail population crisis, such a move would be foolish and ill fated. Plus it would just introduce more government regulation and oversight which is definitely not needed.

There are lots of things that are bad for society, Fast food & Cell phones (when used improperly) to name two. Doesn't mean we just start banning stuff. People need to be responsible and learn self control.

The problem is not alcohol, the problem is the human condition. Jesus died for that. :)

Partially agree, BUT people have done atrocious things that they never would have done had it not been for alcohol, and couldn't even recall doing the crime. That is proof of how dangerous alcohol is. :)
 
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ByTheSpirit

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Partially agree, BUT people have done atrocious things that they never would have done had it not been for alcohol, and couldn't even recall doing the crime. That is proof of how dangerous alcohol is. :)

Such a view is a bit misguided. About the same as the guns are dangerous argument. Guns don't kill people, people kill people. Alcohol can be useful if used in appropriate methods. For centuries it was an anesthetic and pain killing medicine. Actually I believe some forms of alcohol started as such. Paul even wrote for Timothy to drink some wine for his stomach. But he also said said to have self control, as we should in all things.
 
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Tetra

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Making it legal and taxing it makes it more available. Opiates are popular, should we legalize that as well? What is the threshold of popular, and how destructive is a drug allowed to be?
No, you're wrong... making it legal changes nothing. As a libertarian I'm for the complete deregulation of all drugs.

 
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archer75

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Partially agree, BUT people have done atrocious things that they never would have done had it not been for alcohol, and couldn't even recall doing the crime. That is proof of how dangerous alcohol is. :)
That I think alcohol should be legal (not only for religious purposes) doesn't mean I don't agree. Alcohol is an insanely powerful drug.
 
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Reformed2

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No, you're wrong... making it legal changes nothing. As a libertarian I'm for the complete deregulation of all drugs.

I'm wrong in your opinion, or I'm factually wrong? Making it illegal makes it more difficult to access. Can you obtain PCP, heroin, crack etc in less than a half an hour right now? If you can, then you have some connections. Most people don't, but they can obtain alcohol in less than a half an hour.

I'm not wrong, you just don't like what I'm saying.
 
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Tetra

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I'm wrong in your opinion, or I'm factually wrong? Making it illegal makes it more difficult to access. Can you obtain PCP, heroin, crack etc in less than a half an hour right now? If you can, then you have some connections. Most people don't, but they can obtain alcohol in less than a half an hour.

I'm not wrong, you just don't like what I'm saying.
No I'm saying you're factually wrong. The same ratio of drug users remains the same regardless if it's illegal or not. Look at the video about Portugal I posted... they legalized everything, and guess what happened?
 
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The Brown Brink

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My opinion, yes it should. I believe that the federal government gave up on prohibition way too soon. Alcohol is a drug, and a dangerous one at that. It causes all sorts of social problems, and people hurt and even kill one another while under the influence.

I know that there will be those who disagree with that of course, just wanted to hear everyone's thoughts.
:)

I agree that alcohol is dangerous.
It's poisonous and addictive.
But Prohibition was a terrible failure.
People want their alcohol.
And they'll get it, one way or another.

I remember hearing stories long ago about men who drank bad rum, which was all they could get...
It crippled them...

People want their alcohol.
 
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Reformed2

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No I'm saying you're factually wrong. The same ratio of drug users remains the same regardless if it's illegal or not. Look at the video about Portugal I posted... they legalized everything, and guess what happened?
This is not Portugal, and my thread pertains to the UNITED STATES (over 320 million people). Also I do not accept youtube videos as factual works cited references.

Oh and drugs are still illegal in Portugal, all they did was decriminalize, not sell drugs in convenient stores.
 
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Tetra

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This is not Portugal, and my thread pertains to the UNITED STATES (over 320 million people). Also I do not accept youtube videos as factual works cited references.
Oh my gosh... lol The video was ABOUT facts and not a fact in and of itself. I think you must have done zero research... because a quick Google search yields...

A study showing drug prices dropping and drug purity increasing, even though it's illegal:

The temporal relationship between drug supply indicators: an audit of international government surveillance systems | BMJ Open
"With few exceptions and despite increasing investments in enforcement-based supply reduction efforts aimed at disrupting global drug supply, illegal drug prices have generally decreased while drug purity has generally increased since 1990."

The US Bureau of Justice Stats:
Notice how the amount of arrests keep climbing... I guess drugs being illegal is a real deterrent eh? :rolleyes:
Bureau of Justice Statistics Drugs and Crime Facts: Drug law violations and enforcement

1988 study by the US, additional military support to try and stop drug trafficking would do nothing...
Military support would have little effect on drug smuggling, study says

Costs of marijuana prohibition, vs legalization signed by 500 economists...

Costs of Marijuana Prohibition: Economic Analysis

News article comparing 1971 to now...
Inside America’s shameful drug addiction

Wiki on the War on Drugs:
War on Drugs - Wikipedia

I can honestly post this information for days, do you really want me to keep posting info on why making something illegal does nothing?

Oh and drugs are still illegal in Portugal, all they did was decriminalize, not sell drugs in convenient stores.

The people that desire to abuse a substance will abuse that substance, illegal or not, in a convenience store or not, it doesn't make any difference.

With prohibition, didn't alcohol consumption increase?
"Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased"
Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure
 
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