Prohibition Still Doesn’t Work

Comments (47)
December 5, 2008

Join MPP’s Dan Bernath as he takes a look at the failures of Alcohol Prohibition and examines how we have still not learned our lesson. Prohibition doesn’t work. Taxation and regulation does.

The opinions expressed below by our viewers and posters do not necessarily represent the opinions of the Marijuana Policy Project. These views are those of the individual authors alone. MPP does not condone or support the illegal use of marijuana. We do encourage open and frank discussion, but if a comment has been posted that is in some way significantly inappropriate, please e-mail us at socialnetwork@mpp.org to report it. Thank you, and we're looking forward to what you think!

47 Comments, Comment or Ping

barb

Great video, well written and a wonderful idea since we’ve “officially” been in a recession for a year.

Dec 5th, 2008
Norman Lepoff, M.D.

Look what prohibition is doing in Mexico, but all the idiot prohibitionists want to give them more of our tax dollars to fight this draconian war that can never be won.

The drug war has caused more harm than any of the illegal drugs ever had or ever will.

We cannot afford to keep throwing our hard earned money down the toilet called the “drug war.”

Enough is enough already!

Dec 5th, 2008
Jason Blanchette

Actually, alcohol prohibition did decrease alcohol use and the need for alcohol addiction treatment also decreased. Crime and violence also reduced, although, as you point out, it did increase “organized” crime. Also, with the increase of marijuana potency, we are seeing record numbers of teenagers needing addiction treatment for marijuana. THC can replace a neurological chemical called “anandamide,” which causes people to need marijuana to feel normal, this happens much faster to teenagers since their brains are still developing.

Dec 5th, 2008
Another Dave

Dude, brush your hair when you’re going on camera!

Dec 5th, 2008
John Guilbert

The government creates the dangers they claim they are protecting us from. Why? It keeps them employed.

Dec 5th, 2008
B

Jason Blanchette:

First of all the large increase in teenagers seeking treatment for marijuana dependency is due to the drug courts. Defendants are given an option of going to jail or treatment. That is an easy choice for most any person with a brain.

Second if you really fear for the saftey of our teens, then you too should be in favor of legalization. Right now the people selling marijuana and other much more dangerous drugs, don’t care who is buying their product. It is illegal no matter who buys their product. They answer to no-one. You don’t see teens walking into liquor stores and buying alcohol do you? Why?? Because there are stiff penalties for selling to minors. None currently exist with marijuana prohibition.

A legalized market for marijuana will do a much better job of keeping the drug out of the hands of our youth.

Dec 5th, 2008
Jon

@Jason – assertions do not a convincing argument make. Any reason we should believe they are true?

“the need for alcohol addiction treatment also decreased.”

I wasn’t even aware treatment for addictions really happened in the 20s. Could you provide a reference?

“Crime and violence also reduced”

The DEA as an example likes to claim this because it justifies their own existence and validates their thinking. Do you have good evidence it is actually the case? Because the Treasury Department’s data suggests otherwise: http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/graphs/volstead8.htm

With respect to increased potency, this is a direct consequence of demonizing marijuana. Drive something underground, it becomes nastier. To cite this issue as a reason for continued prohibition suggests you’ve really not through your prejudices yet.

Dec 5th, 2008
Jeff

Excellent video. But I have one question. Why isn’t MPP supporting the case filed by Rev Carl Olsen to remove marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III or even out of the Scheduling System? Seems to me that since the issue has never been brought up in court since 1994, prior to any state legalizing Medical Marijuana use, cultivation, etc., that this would be a no brainer win/win situation. Come on MPP get with it, there is more than one way to skin a cat. Put your support behind Carl Olsen and his lawsuit against the DEA that Marijuana no longer meets the requirements for a Schedule I catagory i.e. it “Has Accepted Medical Use in the United States” when the state of California legalized the use of Medical Marijuana for treatment by and under the supervision of a doctor. What are you guys afraid of, huh? Come on this is a way to force the hand of the federal government. LET’S DO IT!!!

Dec 5th, 2008
Larry

As a legal medical marijuana patient I would like to point out that without medical MJ I would not be able to wear the socks I have on now. I wouldn’t be able to sleep, have no appetite and lose weight at an alarming rate, and would not be able to sit here and type this. (darn spinal injury)

Ever hear the phrase, “follow the money”? The real reason marijuana is illegal at all is that the liquor lobby stands to lose a ton of money if marijuana was legalized. It’s not the morality we’re dealing with, it’s just money.

As to the gateway thing, my three grown children do not smoke or use tobacco, marijuana or any illegal drug and do not drink. The reason they don’t has nothing to do with my use of marijuana, it is because I took the necessary time to educate my children how such substances can hurt them, and how not using them will benefit them. They listened.

Legalize marijuana, tax it and use the tax income for things we really need.

Dec 5th, 2008
Jack Grabit

I would love to see this as a commercial on all the major channels!

Dec 5th, 2008
Larry

Great idea Jeff, the more successful lawsuits of this kind the better. The amount of money necessary to help with legal expenses sounds prohibitive given the comparatively small amount of money MPP takes in in donations in a year. People really need to put their pockets where their mouths are to take on such expensive endeavors, (think ACLU here) . Keep up the good fight!

L.

Dec 5th, 2008
shane

“Actually, alcohol prohibition did decrease alcohol use and the need for alcohol addiction treatment also decreased. Crime and violence also reduced, although, as you point out, it did increase “organized” crime. Also, with the increase of marijuana potency, we are seeing record numbers of teenagers needing addiction treatment for marijuana. THC can replace a neurological chemical called “anandamide,” which causes people to need marijuana to feel normal, this happens much faster to teenagers since their brains are still developing.”

Jason, this IMO is rhetoric. there is no evidence to back up this claim. Since cannabis IS illegal, and The FDA doesnt currenlty do transparent research on the effect of THC on the brain. The record number of arrest show though that more and more police are active in detaining people who use it.

Cannabinoid receptors are part of the largest known family of receptors, the G protein-coupled receptors which span the cell membrane seven times. The CB1 receptor is one of the most abundant G protein-coupled receptors in the nervous system.

Cannabinoid receptors were originally discovered as being sensitive to Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC, commonly called THC), which is the primary psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. The discovery of anandamide came from research into CB1 and CB2, as it was inevitable that a naturally occurring (endogenous) chemical would be found to affect these receptors.

Anandamide has been shown to be involved in working memory.[3] Studies are under way to explore what role anandamide plays in human behavior, such as eating and sleep patterns, and pain relief.

Anandamide is also important for implantation of the early stage embryo in its blastocyst form into the uterus. Therefore cannabinoids such as Δ9-THC might interfere with the earliest stages of human pregnancy.[4]
this if from wikepedia, which is IMO biased propaganda, anyone can copy and paste a defininition.

Dec 5th, 2008
Drew

I love it how the DEA try’s to enforce something that we adapted to take into our brain. we evolved overtime to actually have Cannabiniod receptors in our brain so what the fuck were they thinking outlawing it?

Dec 5th, 2008
Michael

Let’s remember that marijuana was outlawed by the chemical companies and lumber companies. It had nothing to do with the effects of THC and it still doesn’t. The drug companies cannot patent marijuana because it is a natural plant and the lumber companies were afraid that hemp would do away with the need to cut down trees for paper and other products. If our government wants to be eco conscious they would outlaw killing trees and grow more hemp for paper products, rope, clothing, etc. It is obviously better for the environment.

Dec 5th, 2008
GodKlown

The entire situation is gross. Gross in the sense that while thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people each year gorge themselves on alcohol and end up dying as a result of their gluttony, this drug remains legal and even a part of popular culture. While you don’t see tobacco advertised on television any more, and there are even warnings in movies and video games about tobacco use in these forms of media, it is not illegal but still claims plenty of lives each year. The hypocrisy of the situation is astounding when compared to the numbers of deaths and addiction rates of the use of marijuana.

Would it not be an unfair analogy to say that perhaps a local gas station is likened to a “gateway” the same way that marijuana is? Or even something less devious in appearance, a grocery store. Consumers, be they of the legal variety or not, are constantly marketed to for more expensive items. If you just want to purchase gasoline at a station and proceed inside to pay for it, you can clearly see the beer coolers from the counter as you approach. Is the gas station luring you into buying alcohol? Isn’t it offering something you know is dangerous and possibly fatal? When you want to procure marijuana from a street source, they do not have flashy marketing gimmicks they can use. There are no store shelves to advertise their wares. You simply want to buy some marijuana, for which the dealer’s earnings is more than likely low, so of course he is going to try and sell you on something more expensive to increase his own profits.

Legalizing marijuana is something that is both morally and ethically right. It would seriously and considerably ease the strain on (at least) the United States penal system by taking non-violent offenders arrested for minor possession out of the mix of the serious offenders. It could create jobs and much needed taxable income and open up the ability to pursue research into the plant itself. The deaths that may be on record for marijuana are most likely not strictly for the marijuana itself but in the event it was laced with something harmful or combined with something else.

I am personally in favor of removing marijuana from the Scheduling lineup, as well as doing away with being able to test it during a drug screening. To allow citizens of a free country to be able to live freely and do as they please has been something that hasn’t been addressed in this country or attempted in a very long time. Recreational or medicinal users of marijuana should enjoy the same rights as anyone else without the constant worry of law enforcement. There are more serious things in this world to consider than whether a legal adult is smoking a little grass at home. Take these drugs off the streets, pass them through the system and allow them to be purchased through a legal outlet instead of forcing people to commit a crime in simply obtaining them for personal use already. To do anything less would just be a case of repeating a history in this country that hasn’t worked for over seventy years.

Dec 5th, 2008
Laura

Do you know that any adult can legally drink alcohol, no matter how many times he has been arrested for DWI, nor how many people he has killed by driving drunk or by losing his temper and beating up another–even a child– while intoxicated? No matter, he can still legally drink (if he’s not in jail.) But no adult can legally smoke (i.e. possess) marijuana, no matter how responsibly.

As for this propaganda that marijuana is so much stronger than it was 30 years ago, I can tell you that it isn’t so. Perhaps the THC level in the AVERAGE marijuana confiscated on the street is higher, but those of us who bothered to find it have always smoked potent pot. The marijuana that got me the highest was some Hawaiian I smoked in 1979; I’ve never been able to find any like it since. And what if it is stronger, and you smoke too much? It makes you go to sleep. Hmmm. Very dangerous, wouldn’t you say? When I smoked the Hawaiian, my friend and I spent over an hour studying a world atlas, amazed at which countries were where (we were from the generation whose schools decided geography didn’t matter.) Not exactly the kind of thing a person extremely drunk would do.

Dec 5th, 2008
Javier

The only thing I find objectionable to this commercial is when Dan bernath refers to Marijuana as a “drug” which is the wrong message to be sending. It is an herb and it has medicinal values as well as being socially acceptable. I would rewrite that portion of the commercial.

Dec 5th, 2008
steven

i jus wanna say a thing or two on the gateway thing. prohibition is the gateway. end prohibition now. great vid too.

Dec 6th, 2008
kat

I happen to agree with your video. I hope our new pres does too!

Dec 6th, 2008
dal aitch

when it gets right down to it..
how it is sane to imprision people for having a flower inna bag?
when did it become ok for govt to impose itself on our personal souvrignity?
why is your opinion on how i find personal comfort relevant?
if we dont have the ability to determine how we choose our personal approach to body,mind, spirit… then where does freedom lie?
puritanism and its tenent that ecstasy is to be found only in religeous self deprivation continues to hold a strong undercurrant in todays american culture.
doth sucketh.

o yeah… Jason Blanchette… koolaid drinking MOMO

Dec 6th, 2008
Bill Carroll

I asked Dr. Robert Melamede if there was any such “addiction” mechanism for cannabis. It appears that the actions of cannabis do not weaken the endocannabinoid system. The effect of marijuana adds to, but does not replace, the endocannabinoid system. If you smoke pot, you’re not weakening yourself if you use commonsense. (I mean, use your head. Don’t smoke enormous amounts of pot!)

People who had smoked pot heavily for over 40 years showed only minor withdrawal symptoms about 40 percent of the time. Experts have always said that pot is basically “not addicting”.

I don’t thing that appraisal has changed.

Dec 6th, 2008
Bill Carroll

A study of persons who had smoked pot for 40 years showed that over half reported no withdrawal symptoms at all when they stopped using it for the study.

Dec 6th, 2008
JOHN BARLEY-CORN

It’s amazing that we have to compare alcohol consumption to marijuana consumption.

Marijuana is many many times safer than alcohol will ever be.

And tobacco is legal too?? Amsterdam has made tobacco smoking illegal in the coffeeshops..AND YOU KNOW WHY!!

America is a country of hypocritical laws enforced for the corporations that are killing us all everyday.

IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP AMERICA!! REALIZE THE TRUTH AND WAKE UP!

YOU’RE BEIING BRAINWASHED BY DRACONIAN LAWS THAT SERVE NO REAL PURPOSE OTHER THAN TO MAKE YOU A SLAVE TO THE SELF DESTROYING INFLUENCES THAT CONTROL YOUR JUDGEMENT AND LIFE.

YOU CAN STOP THE MADNESS..BUT IT WILL TAKE ACTION AND AWARENESS..

Dec 6th, 2008
Robert

I believe that adults should have the freedom to control what they put into their own bodies.

Dec 7th, 2008
Robert

When the federal government wanted to make alcohol illegal, they realized they didn’t have the power to do so. In order to get this power they amended the US constitution. Where did they get the power to make other drugs illegal ? Growing a plant in your own home, grinding it up, and smoking it does not effect interstate commerce. When you learn about these supreme court rulings, you can see how ridiculous it all is.

Dec 7th, 2008
Dr.Susanne

That was Great & To the Point!

Dec 7th, 2008
Andrew

Good video, but I’ve gotta ask: what’s the point? The only people who are seeing these are mostly people who already had an interest in the MPP, and I am assuming that the majority of them already support marijuana legalization. While I’m sure it is difficult, because of both funding and subject matter, to advertise on TV or radio, do not forget the potential of the internet. And don’t just advertise with High Times or whatever stoner site is popular at the time, you’re preaching to the choir. There is also much to be said about guerilla marketing campaigns (posting stickers, flyers, etc). A well structured one could generate plenty of attention and potentially revenue, just get the word out on any college campus. Good luck.

Dec 8th, 2008
Robert Payne

I agree Dan should not refer to marijuana as a drug.It is an herb & should not be classified a schedule 1 drug that is classified right next to LSD & Heroin.I am ready for the guerilla marketing campaigns(posting stickers,flyers & informative brochures….) Willing to start right here in our commonwealth of NorthWestren Pennsylvania.
LET’S Quit Talking & Start Acting WE THE PEOPLE
NEED TO START A NEW LAW FOR THE PEOPLE

Dec 10th, 2008
Robert Payne

I agree Dan should not refer to marijuana as a drug.It is an herb & should not be classified a schedule 1 drug that is classified right next to LSD & Heroin.I am ready for the guerilla marketing campaigns(posting stickers,flyers & informative brochures….) Willing to start right here in our commonwealth of NorthWestern Pennsylvania.
LET’S Quit Talking & Start Acting WE THE PEOPLE
NEED TO START A NEW LAW FOR THE PEOPLE

Dec 10th, 2008
Harold L Nicol

It is the height of hypocrisy when “legal” over the counter and prescription drugs cause over 5,000 deaths per year, yet cannabis has yet to cause a single death and it is touted as the prime evil in the drug war. When humanity sees the products of nature as part of the sacred circle of life, and not something primitive to suppress, then we will be able to see what a horrendous tragedy the war on “natural” drugs is.

Dec 10th, 2008
Kirk S.

A, Nadia, your so fine, your so fine, you blow my mind……….
But, seriously…I forgot the damn topic……… I’ve heard that pot effects…..
your concentration………………………..
half way through the vid, I don’t even hear…………….
A, Nadia, your so fi…………….I mean, I hear her speak….. but those eyes
ooooooooooooooooooooooyeah, no I’m serious If we can get a petition for a class action law suit, against the Bush administration, for “deprivation of the persute of happiness”, since he’s already proven himself “anti- civil rights”, among other things, it should be a “slam drunk”, and I suspect “that” will come up at the trial. Because, they definitely weren’t “blazin”, otherwise, this whole pile o’ sh*t we’re in, with the war and all, most likely would have been “thought out” way better, admit it, if puffin’ were “manditory” by law, “war” would become a thing of the past, I mean, a worldwide law, that mandates, “first thing in the morning, everyone puts the flame to the jane”, know what I mean? Then the same at noon, and, with the evening meal. Think of the jobs, no more “road rage”, your boss will be………..well, still your boss, but, hey, everyone’s got room for improvement, besides he’ll be too busy playing with the paper clips, to be buggin you. We’ve tried it one way, lets try it the other way, can’t hurt
A, Nadia, your so fine, your so fine you……………..
Regards
The Captain.

Dec 12th, 2008
Kirk S.

Now I remember what I was gonna throw into the ponder pit.
What, or who gave the “government” the power/right/authority, to declare the herbage, “illegal”, in the first place, since it isn’t a threat to life, or property, except, under “current laws”, and when a law, does more harm than good, still the government enforces it, that government, is longer functional, and must be disbanded, before it’s too late, we know they have weapons of mass destruction, and we don’t want that proof in the form of a mushroom cloud, we know they are actively seeking nuculer capability’s, they are the axis of evil, the axis of evil, axis of evil, of evil, evil.

Dec 12th, 2008
shay

it continues to baffle me how much sense legalization makes economically, and how much politicians and voters are in denial about it. quick fix for the economy? got one right here, mr president! come on, people. open your eyes.

Dec 16th, 2008
Luke

I don’t understand why the government won’t listen to the people’s wishes. They almost seem to just ignore anything to do with mj and brush it aside. I want them to come clean and say exactly why they are against the legalization…. or maybe they are just afraid of saying the truth bc they will sound dumb.

Jan 7th, 2009
Karen

To me the point is that ALCOHOL kills. I really never knew alcoholics per se as I was growing up and became an adult. I have never heard of a pot-smoker dying from smoking too much. I’ve seen them eat like ravenous critters or drink water, but DEATH? No way. My boyfriend is a raging alcoholic, therefore, alcohol is my enemy.

The government doesn’t have the right to take something from us that doesn’t makes us venomous and kill. I have almost been killed by drunks with their hands around my throat. MJ users are generally laid back and zoned.

It’s a WEED for effing sake. I pray that our new president President Obama will see this and change the Federal Laws concerning herbal remedies. Marijuana use is ALSO far far better than antidepressants that has some really scary side effects for some people.

I will venture to say that herbal enhances good will in the majority of people.

To whomever is donating matching funds for this MMP. Thank you and to all of you who’ve donated-as I have-let’s keep going…keep marching…

Jan 10th, 2009
Karen

To me the point is that ALCOHOL kills. I really never knew alcoholics-per se-as I was growing up and became an adult. I have never heard of a pot-smoker dying from smoking too much. I’ve seen them eat like ravenous critters or drink water, but DEATH? No way. My boyfriend is a raging alcoholic, therefore, alcohol is my enemy. Recently two friends have died from alcohol…and my ladnlord is such an alcoholic she has to go to the hospital to replenish her fluids.

The government doesn’t have the right to take something from us that doesn’t makes us venomous and kill. I have almost been killed by drunks with their hands around my throat. MJ users are generally laid back and zoned.

It’s a WEED for effing sake. I pray that our new president President Obama will see this need for change and work to repeal the Federal Laws concerning herbal remedies. Marijuana use is ALSO far far better than antidepressants which has some really scary side effects for some people.

I will venture to say that herbal enhances good will in the majority of people.

To whomever is donating matching funds for this MMP. Thank you. To all of you who’ve donated-as I have-let’s keep going…keep marching…FIGHT for your rights and get the stigma of smoking removed from the laws.

Jan 10th, 2009
Karen

Cannibus was also outlawed to keep the MEXICANS in Mexico from growing the DEMON WEED in the United States…

It wasn’t just the alcohol and lumber lobby…..it was racial decrimination.
REPEAL NOW!!!

Jan 10th, 2009
Lisa

First of all I have never met a mean stoner ! I feel if Marijuana has many medical uses . If regulated it’ll help the economy . We sure can use the help! Also hemp has many uses… we may be able to start a job market . What a thought !!
I have MS and I hate the fact that I have to take all of these medicines , and take shots ! I hate the fact That I the poor woman who has to spend a lot of money on these parmasutical products. I’d rather spend 350.00 on my own to create the medicine that helps me with the every day pain .
Thank’s All you believers !! May we end Prohibition ! GOD SPEED

Feb 9th, 2009
Meni

I have friends that are teachers who smoke after work. These are people with arthritis,M.S. and other painful diseases. They buy from adults that sell to adults only.

Feb 10th, 2009
michael

I am not going to lie… Being arrested for a plant in your pocket is extremely irritating.
Like what the fuck dude… I have to pay like 10,000$ in court fees for what like a oz. (Best shit ever if you ask me)
The worst part is I FUCKING SMOKE THAT SHIT SO I CAN SLEEP! You just want to smoke my chronic that is why you take it. ADMIT IT.

Feb 19th, 2009
Anonymous

Is it just me, or is there no sound for this video?

Feb 19th, 2009
Jess

I would like to see this subject put to a national vote or do we not have that right anymore ? I have used both alcohol and weed and even though alcohol is legal I have seem for more blaten violence from people that had been drinking than from someone who has been smoking. The laws are suppose to serve and protect the people not force them to play their political games. Didn’t someone say GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH or did they forget that little tid bit ?

Feb 23rd, 2009
Jessie Hamby

prohibition doesn’t work but the smokers do. WE can do anything if WE stay focused on passing the law to legalize it. WE tell the govt. what to do, every 4 years. Get rid of the whole bunch & let’s see if the new govt. is any smarter.

Feb 24th, 2009
Serge in Chicago

It’s so true it makes no sence for the Goverment not too?

Mar 2nd, 2009
Bryan Brady

Why isn’t this on TV

How are we as a country going to get up to date in the medical field if the Government continues with its “War on Drugs” targeting the marijuana issues. The disease we are fighting is CANCER. It was found by research that it battles cancers.

The war is a peaceful one by the people, we are trying to peacfully resolve the war with the People of God versus the United States Government and local state, county, and city governments.

Why do they continue to ignore the response of the American People?

It is the duty of every free American to end this violation of Gods law and the law of this nation.

Specifically, the law that govern the use and aquisition of cannabis sativa, and herb declared by scientist, that bears seed. Now I would refer you to the scriptures reguarding the origins and uses by man; Genesis chapter 1 verses 29 and 30:

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you everyherb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in the which is the fruit of a tree yeilding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

This is God’s LAW and man has violated that law by incarcerating and killing people for using an herb that God made and placed in the Garden of Eden to help mankind get along and live long lives.
Cannabis sativa was developed by God.

Who is so blind that they cannot see the results of taking an intricate part of our DNA. There are THC receptors built into our systems, and when you take that natural process out you shorten the life.

Look at what you learn from scientists.

Now is the time to make reparation to these people that have been violated by the Law.

Repentance proceedures, as set forth in the Bible are expected by the People of God, to the U.S. Government for this clear violation.

The Laws governing cannabis sativa were done so by perjurious information, citing specifically the lies made popular by the movie “Reefer Madness” produced and developed the U.S. Government. The Leguardia report stated the real scientific results and yet the information being sent to mainstream America were complete lies.

And now we see the results of the U.S. Government trying to keep the one thing that supresses violent tendancies of mankind.

The results are a scourge upon the earth that we know as CANCER. What will stop it is simple. My words are simple.

Legalize Marijuana NOW or the scourge will be tenfold, Thus Saith The Lord.

Now is our time to make the reparations necessary for humanity to enjoy the real freedom that one has in life if their diet is in direct relation to what we learn in the Scriptures from God.

Those who oppose on this issue oppose also God, I’m merely a messenger.

Forward to 3 friends and President Obama

Mar 4th, 2009

It’s Repeal Day (of prohibition) … « David Kirkpatrick - Dec 5th, 2008
Happy Repeal Day | Think Tank West - Feb 11th, 2009

Prohibition Still Doesn’t Work

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