Demon Hemp

The History Channel had an interesting documentary on moonshine the other night. Those who think about moonshine probably think about it in context of bootleggers in the prohibition era. Much of the documentary revolved around illegal activities, such as rum-running and speakeasies that cropped up. Otherwise law-abiding men opened backwoods distilleries after being thrown out of their legitimate jobs making whiskey as the nation went officially dry.

The tenor of the documentary largely held prohibition up as folly, that the demand for alcohol was insatiable, and that prohibition failed in its desired effect of reducing alcohol consumption. What was not explored was whether or not the actual desired effect, a reduction in the social ills related to alcoholism, was fulfilled.

In fact, marijuana legalization advocates are wont to hold up the 18th amendment as proof positive that the drug war is as doomed as prohibition. Americans appetite for drugs is insatiable, so it goes, and all the costs in time, crime and dollars is swirling down a bottomless hole.

I don't find this all that satisfying, although I'm pretty weary of the drug war. Alcohol is highly regulated, but the deaths just from drunk driving incidents eclipse in one year all the mayhem from Al Capone. I have no statistics comparing prohibition-era drunk driving to today, but this would be an important metric before we start planting hemp plants in South Carolina and merchandising the resultant packs of Marley-boros in liquor stores.

I am not much of a fan of alcohol. My cousin Tony was beat to death by a drunk when he was not yet in kindergarten Other loved ones have paid bitter prices for mistakes made while loaded. The social cost of alcohol is well known, and it is steep.

The economic price of alcohol abuse has been largely absorbed into our economy, reflected in insurance rates and actuarial tables. I don't see how legalizing pot will reduce it's use, so what will be the price of the raft of social problems unleashed by ready availability of pot going to be?

Further, the same libertarian rationale behind calls for marijuana legalization can easily apply to any drug. How do you justify saying yes to one and not no to another. The availability of alcohol did not forestall demand for pot, how will the availability of pot forestall demand for heroin?

In my life at least seven young people have had their lives derailed by illegal drug use. I am unconvinced making them as legal and as controlled as alcohol will make it any better. While it is fashionable to mock prohibition as a failed, the only definite failure is that it traded one problem for another. Missing from that discussion is whether or not the social evils of demon rum — abandoned families, accidents, domestic violence — were better or worse under prohibition or without. That question has to be answered convincingly before we repeal laws forbidding more potent drugs.

Tim McNabb