Treat all drugs equally
Cody Boland
Issue date: 10/2/09 Section: Opinion
Why is alcohol legal? It's a simple question, really. Now please don't get me wrong, I'm not a prohibitionist; in fact when the rest of the civilized world deems alcohol legal by 18 years of age, I also question why in this country one has to wait three years after draft age to purchase a beer, but this column isn't about that. I'm simply asking why there are only two drugs that are legal at some age or another to be used recreationally.
Historically, it is simple why alcohol and tobacco are the only two recreational drugs that are legal. The men who founded this country were some of the biggest drug producers we have ever seen. Some brewed, some had tobacco plantations, so those two drugs have been in our culture from the beginning.
Here, if someone drinks a bit they are accepted, if they dabble in other drugs, like cannabis, they are good-for-nothing stoners. Funny, because I guarantee anyone that if Samuel Adams was known for growing bomb Boston bud, the Sam Adams brewery would be the Sam Adams hydroponics greenhouse.
It's a common statement that drugs are bad. "Anti-drug" campaigns are fond of reminding us of this. Of course, the fact that during a football game an "above the influence" commercial will be followed by a Bud Light advertisement is an irony that goes over many Americans' heads.
Most of us remember D.A.R.E. or similar programs, and what has always annoyed me about these programs is a phrase like, "dare to avoid drugs and alcohol." Well here's a secret. If it affects one's brain to the point where they think differently, slur and have trouble walking, it's a drug, plain and simple. Don't separate alcohol just because it's legal, it's just another drug.
It's an addictive, dangerous drug, I might add. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 22,000 people died an alcohol-induced death in 2006. This number is excluding accidents and homicides, many of which are alcohol-fueled and would pump that number up dramatically. Over 22,000 people died from drinking too much of a legal substance that can be bought at any quantity.
Historically, it is simple why alcohol and tobacco are the only two recreational drugs that are legal. The men who founded this country were some of the biggest drug producers we have ever seen. Some brewed, some had tobacco plantations, so those two drugs have been in our culture from the beginning.
Here, if someone drinks a bit they are accepted, if they dabble in other drugs, like cannabis, they are good-for-nothing stoners. Funny, because I guarantee anyone that if Samuel Adams was known for growing bomb Boston bud, the Sam Adams brewery would be the Sam Adams hydroponics greenhouse.
It's a common statement that drugs are bad. "Anti-drug" campaigns are fond of reminding us of this. Of course, the fact that during a football game an "above the influence" commercial will be followed by a Bud Light advertisement is an irony that goes over many Americans' heads.
Most of us remember D.A.R.E. or similar programs, and what has always annoyed me about these programs is a phrase like, "dare to avoid drugs and alcohol." Well here's a secret. If it affects one's brain to the point where they think differently, slur and have trouble walking, it's a drug, plain and simple. Don't separate alcohol just because it's legal, it's just another drug.
It's an addictive, dangerous drug, I might add. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 22,000 people died an alcohol-induced death in 2006. This number is excluding accidents and homicides, many of which are alcohol-fueled and would pump that number up dramatically. Over 22,000 people died from drinking too much of a legal substance that can be bought at any quantity.
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Paul Marshall
posted 10/07/09 @ 9:36 PM CST
Well they did try and ban alcohol in the 1920s (known as Prohibition). The end result, alcohol was still being made, people were still drinking it and buying it, and little was done to enforce it because of the mob terrorizing government officials. (Continued…)
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