Pubdate: Sun, 27 Dec 2009 Source: Record Searchlight (Redding, CA) Copyright: 2009 Record Searchlight Contact: http://www.redding.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/360 Author: Richard N. Gray PROHIBITION IS STILL A BAD IDEA What's this marijuana problem? Does anyone remember Prohibition? Or even remember reading about it in school? After WWI, prohibition became the law of the land, by the 18th amendment to our Constitution. Unfortunately, enforcement of the strict Volstead Act was a bit of a problem. Bathtub gin and the stamping of grapes were widespread, and this era became a period of bootlegging and unparalleled drinking (think Al Capone and Eliot Ness), not ending until Prohibition was repealed by the passage of the 21st amendment in 1933. The "Noble Experiment" was over. Our federal government declared you cannot legislate morality. Now the government regulates, inspects and taxes. Is there any reason why marijuana should not be handled the same way? Just as people could easily make their own booze, so can people grow a marijuana plant. It is easier to buy a bottle than make your own alcohol, and although I do not know how to process marijuana, there would be a better selection and more consumer safety rules buying through a distributor, licensed and inspected, just like alcohol. Until some similar action is taken, I fear we will continue to hear how each city, town and hamlet in the United States is handling the "marijuana problem." Richard N. Gray Redding - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake