Pubdate: Fri, 11 Apr 2008 Source: DrugSense Weekly (DSW) Section: Feature Article Website: http://www.drugsense.org Author: Stephen Young Note: Stephen Young is an editor with DrugSense Weekly. ASSESSING 75 YEARS WITH LEGAL BEER On April 7, 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt partially repealed alcohol prohibition. That day 75 years ago wasn't a time for hard liquor drinkers to celebrate yet (at least for those who obeyed the law); only beer became formally regulated that day. But it was a chink in the wall the led to the eventual collapse of an institution that had wrecked havoc on the country. I imagine at the time, there were prohibitionists who predicted the collapse of society. It did not come. And now today, as we continue to take halting steps toward drug policy reform, it important to remember both that fact, and, another. The change came at a quick pace once it really started, but it had to start in smaller steps. The prohibitionist policies we have today are more complex - they are a web of federal, state and local laws that reinforce each other in ways that are difficult to unravel. But, slowly through the work of activists specializing in different areas of the law, the policies are slowly becoming unraveled. So celebrate with a beer sometime this week, if you are an adult who enjoys that sort of thing. And then get ready to get to focus on the problems again as we approach another significant date in the United States: April 15. As the government sends back that tiny fraction of the taxes you've paid this year (or if you're unlucky, demands more), think about how much you labor you've expended over the past 12 months to support the drug war, whether you wanted to or not. Today, many state and local governments couldn't run without the revenue they generate from legal alcohol sales. And of course, it makes much more sense to draw public revenue from alcohol than it does to spend public revenue in efforts to stamp it out. People understood that 75 years ago with regard to beer. Many today are starting to see it with cannabis. Some are starting to see it with other drugs. There will be a time when the end of drug prohibition is just an anniversary to be celebrated, but there will be more than a few small steps, and less notable anniversaries, on the way. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake