Pubdate: Wed, 05 Oct 2011
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2011 The Edmonton Journal
Contact: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/opinion/letters/letters-to-the-editor.html
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Harry MacKendrick

PROHIBITION WOULD FAIL AGAIN

Re: "Stop love affair with booze," by Warren Kew, Letters, Oct. 2.

Warren Kew's argument for alcohol prohibition is hugely flawed and
ignores some very harsh lessons society has learned. Prohibition of
alcohol has never worked and will only cause more problems.

A smoking ban, as in "please indulge your habit a few metres away," is
not prohibition of tobacco consumption; there is almost no comparison
to the impact on the smoker of such a bylaw compared to an outright
ban.

By Kew's own admission people do drugs. Has he not heard of the war on
drugs raging on this continent as we try to prohibit the consumption
of certain substances, and of the colossal cost and current failure of
that prohibition? 

The lessons learned from the ill-fated prohibition era of the 1920s 
need not be found in history books. There are hundreds of movies and 
TV shows graphically illustrating what happened the last time that was 
tried. No one could ignore that message.

Even the act of curtailing certain merchants' hours in select areas of
the city would meet with a public outcry of rights being trampled.

Yes, it is true the price of alcohol abuse in our society is a great
deal of money and misery, but prohibition is not a solution to this
problem.

Harry MacKendrick

Edmonton
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