Some "DID YOU KNOW?" for your day

Happy January 16th! It wasn't always a happy day though. On this day in history:

"The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land." - History Channel

What does that mean? It means that today marks the 94th anniversary of the American prohibition, one of the biggest legal failures in American history. Even at the time of its passing, it was a hotly debated issue.

Prohibition protesters. They just want beer. Come on, give the poor protesters some beer.  

Many anti-prohibitionists (or "wets") criticized the law because it impeded on the religious rights of Catholics, who consider the eating of bread and the drinking of wine to be a very important aspect of their church service.

"Effective enforcement of the alcohol ban during the Prohibition Era proved to be very difficult and led to widespread flouting of the law. The lack of a solid popular consensus for the ban resulted in the growth of vast criminal organizations, including the modern American Mafia, and various other criminal cliques. Widespread disregard of the law also generated rampant corruption among politicians and within police forces." - Wikipedia

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. The prohibition of alcohol is what formed the American Mafia. The mob.

They look pissed. Maybe you should have just given them some beer.

Lesson to be learned? Don't tell Americans what they can or can not consume. We don't like it. Which brings me to my "how-this-relates-to-modern-times" moment. Marijuana prohibition in the US today is just as big of a failure as alcohol prohibition was in the 1920s and 1930s. As the formation of the mafia pointed out, Americans don't like to be told what they can or can not consume.

"Marijuana is the third most popular recreational drug in America (behind only alcohol and tobacco), and has been used by nearly 100 million Americans. According to government surveys, some 25 million Americans have smoked marijuana in the past year, and more than 14 million do so regularly despite harsh laws against its use. Our public policies should reflect this reality, not deny it."  - NORML

I didn't create this post to preach, though. For more information about marijuana and marijuana laws, please visit NORML - the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

And to those of you with rebellious spirits like myself, have a drink tonight. Make a toast. A toast - to alcohol, and the fact that we're allowed to drink it.