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Prohibition

Prohibition. Governments often attemp to prohibit people from producing, selling, or using certain substances Alcohol prohibition, 1918-1933 Marijuana prohibition, 1937-present Several states and counties had been “dry” prior to the

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Prohibition

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  1. Prohibition • Governments often attemp to prohibit people from producing, selling, or using certain substances • Alcohol prohibition, 1918-1933 • Marijuana prohibition, 1937-present • Several states and counties had been “dry” prior to the • “Temperance” movement part of the “progressive’ movement of the early 20th cent.

  2. Cocaine • Native South Americans chewed coca leaves for mild stimulation, ca. 1500 • 1863 wine/cocaine cocktail sold as stimulant • 1887 U.S. Surgeon General recommended cocaine as treatment for depression • Sigmund Freud was a heavy user • 1906 Coca-Cola removed cocaine from its recipe • 1914 outlawed in the U.S. • Gained popularity in 1970’s • Crack cocaine epidemic, 1980’s

  3. Cocaine as “medicine”

  4. Opium • Source: poppy seed. Main product of Afghanistan • Origin in Islamic societies • Introduced to China by traders, use became widespread • British began to use opium for trade with China. Banned by Chinese, leading to Opium War of 1840 • Used in “tonics” by affluent ladies • Superceded by morphine, heroin

  5. Marijuana • Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 • Taxed • Repealed 1960’s • Hysterical propaganda -- “Reefer Madness” • Hemp is a very useful fiber from MJ -- growing encouraged during WW2 • Historical medical and sacramental uses • U.S. HHS Dept. holds a patent on medical MJ!!

  6. Legalization movement • Medical marijuana now legal • California, 1996 • 17 other states since then • Much of what is sold as “medical” MJ is probably for recreational use • Obama’s U. S. Attorney for N. Cal. has started a brutal assault on medical MJ providers • Complete legalization in Colorado & Washington State as of Nov. 2012 • Potential for federal/state conflict

  7. Economics of prohibition • Increased prices • Prices of cheaper stuff (MJ) increase more relative to price of hard stuff (heroin)‏ • Many users/addicts turn to crime • Disproportionate impact on young blacks • Generally less prepared for productive careers (education, family background)‏ • Drug dealing an attractive alternative • Decreased quality • No public marketplace • Shift to more potent and more dangerous substitutes (e.g. wood alcohol)‏ • Diversion of law enforcement resources

  8. Prohibition: who benefits? • Prohibition began as a sincere efforts by evangelical Protestants and others to curb the ill effects of alcohol and later drugs • Co-opted by special interests: • Progressive-era zealots eager to control other people’s lives • Coporations like duPont whose artificial fibers and lubricating oils competed with hemp • After alcohol prohibition ended, bureaucracies cast about for something else to do – MJ prohibition • Prohibition can be a big money-maker for police, via asset forfeiture

  9. Asset forfeiture • The practice of seizing assets that are allegedly involved in criminal activity • No proof of guilt is required, though evidence must be presented • Things are held to be “guilty” of crimes as if they were people • Very profitable for police, who generally get a cut of the loot when federal law enforcement is involved

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