Bootleger Version 20

A detailed Summary of Bootleger Version 20

"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance... for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation and make a crime out of things that are not a crime. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principle upon which our government was founded" Abraham Lincoln

On January 16, 1920 the Eighteenth Amendment was ratified by thirty-six states and became part of the Constitution. The intention of this new amendment was to lower alcohol consumption by Americans. At the time each American consumed on average thirty gallons of alcohol a year.[1] This new amendment took away the license to do business from the brewers, distillers, and the wholesale and retail sellers of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol consumption did taper off somewhat at the beginning of prohibition only to slowly rise back to pre-prohibition levels shortly before the end of the movement which took place on December 5,1933. Not only was the goal of prohibition never achieved, but it raised organized crime to levels of power unimaginable before and seriously disrupted both the legitimacy and revenue of the government.

Just as Prohibition incited many unsavory activiti

The second most prevalent, as well as disheartening, result of this movement is the death of innocent victims. The support for this result can be found in the obituary section of the daily newspaper or on the five o'clock news. Even the smallest of towns have been afflicted with death due to drugs. Back-alley heroin and basement-lab manufactured amphetamines present the same problem as moonshine alcohol; it might be the real thing but it might also kill anyone who takes it because the manufacturer didn't know what they were doing. The huge profits from drugs are also the major motivation for "turf wars" between gangs, many of whom seem to have fairly bad aim and hit innocent bystanders as often as each other. To add insult to injury, the greatest backlash of the War on Drugs is the economic and financial damage. In the Cato Policy Analysis No.121 it states:

The greatest outcome of legalization would be the tax money accrued by the sale of drugs, endowing numerous government programs, such as programs for the rehabilitation of addicts, healthcare, education, and the preservation of national forests and monuments. Funding educational programs would rejuvenate the public school system and greatly improve the quality of scholastic endeavors. Schools will be refurbished and equipped with state of the art learning tools. Teachers will receive pay raises. Students will be in an environment conducive to learning. Not to mention violence in schools will diminish drastically. Public schools across America would phase out drug addicts by teaching drug awareness, tolerance and moderation.

[2] http://americanhistory.about.prohibition/aa072100b.htm?iam=mt&terms=%2Bprohibition

It is quite clear that the War on Drugs is failing. A drug free country would be ideal. So would an alcohol-free country, a pollution-free country, and most likely a fast food-free country. None of these things will happe

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Approximate Word count = 1302
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Politics