Domestic abuse is made worse with alcohol, car accidents, work accidents...
There are many way the whole society pays for allowing people access to a drug such as alcohol.
Prohibition generally has fared poorly even for more complicated chemicals, but alcohol is essentially made from food. The ingredients for beer (and its distilled relations, whisky / scotch) are quite similar to the ingredients for leavened bread.
There is an "iron law of prohibition" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_prohibition) which posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases. Such was what happened in the original Prohibition in the US; beer and wine were ditched in favor of more potent hard liquor, which was often poorly made and possibly dangerous to consume.
There seems to be some contradictory opinions on Prohibition's overall effects, but what I seem to gather is that, while drinking overall went down, access to alcohol was still fairly easy (as alcohol isn't difficult to make), and the problem drinkers became more disruptive (due to consuming stronger, often poorly made stuff).
Right, but - I have never engaged in domestic abuse. I have never caused a car accident. I have never had a work accident. And yet, I drink daily.
Why should my own enjoyment of life be curtailed, simply because others can't behave themselves? That would be punishing me for others' failings, and that is unjust.
Not that agree with prohibition, I don't; but the general answer to your question is because that's how society works. Sometime you have to give something up because in net in makes things better overall.
te_203943059|2 years ago
There is an "iron law of prohibition" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron_law_of_prohibition) which posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases. Such was what happened in the original Prohibition in the US; beer and wine were ditched in favor of more potent hard liquor, which was often poorly made and possibly dangerous to consume.
There seems to be some contradictory opinions on Prohibition's overall effects, but what I seem to gather is that, while drinking overall went down, access to alcohol was still fairly easy (as alcohol isn't difficult to make), and the problem drinkers became more disruptive (due to consuming stronger, often poorly made stuff).
mock-possum|2 years ago
Why should my own enjoyment of life be curtailed, simply because others can't behave themselves? That would be punishing me for others' failings, and that is unjust.
AwaAwa|2 years ago
Unless you missed the coercion in the last decade, and more recently in the last three years.
And somehow there will always be someone that tries to justify the ever slippery, 'for the greater good'.
Eddy_Viscosity2|2 years ago