4 ms·

Would you then agree that alcohol (which destroys many families - way more than meth) should be illegal too?

tsally 17y ago
Interesting question. Alcohol shouldn't be illegal because it's a major part of our social fabric in America. Business deals, hacker meetups, weddings, reunions, all have alcohol at them. Hell, the writers of the constitution consumed a ton of alcohol to celebrate when they finished. All of these examples lead me to believe that in moderate amounts, alcohol serves a useful social function. I mean, when was the last time you were at a hacker meetup that didn't have booze at it? Another reason why alcohol shouldn't be illegal is that almost all users are functioning, contributing members of society. Meth isn't even close in that regard. I'd be surprised if more than 5% of regular meth users have a positive net effect. It's just too addictive and potent. That being said, I think the penalties for consuming too much alcohol should be on par with drug related offenses. Further, any crime committed while under heavy influence of alcohol (assault and rape come to mind) should have it's minimum sentence doubled. And as for parents who beat their spouses and children while drunk? I'd be fine with throwing them in jail for 20 to life depending on the damage done. A less extreme measure is to revoke a persons right to purchase alcohol after X number of alcohol induced crimes. People do make mistakes, and we don't need to throw the book at first time offenders. However, a repeated pattern of alcohol abuse is not something that should be tolerated any more than the use of meth.
- Devilboy 17y ago
  Did you forget about the alcohol prohibition period?
  - tsally 17y ago
    You're going to need to explain why you feel that Prohibition has any relevance to the points I made in my previous comment, because I'm not sure what you are getting at. Yes, religious movements caused alcohol to be banned for a period of time, but it was recognized as a mistake and repealed. Plus, it's not like Prohibition was a unanimous thing. There were 14 states that voted against it.

Interesting question. Alcohol shouldn't be illegal because it's a major part of our social fabric in America. Business deals, hacker meetups, weddings, reunions, all have alcohol at them. Hell, the writers of the constitution consumed a ton of alcohol to celebrate when they finished. All of these examples lead me to believe that in moderate amounts, alcohol serves a useful social function. I mean, when was the last time you were at a hacker meetup that didn't have booze at it? Another reason why alcohol shouldn't be illegal is that almost all users are functioning, contributing members of society. Meth isn't even close in that regard. I'd be surprised if more than 5% of regular meth users have a positive net effect. It's just too addictive and potent. That being said, I think the penalties for consuming too much alcohol should be on par with drug related offenses. Further, any crime committed while under heavy influence of alcohol (assault and rape come to mind) should have it's minimum sentence doubled. And as for parents who beat their spouses and children while drunk? I'd be fine with throwing them in jail for 20 to life depending on the damage done. A less extreme measure is to revoke a persons right to purchase alcohol after X number of alcohol induced crimes. People do make mistakes, and we don't need to throw the book at first time offenders. However, a repeated pattern of alcohol abuse is not something that should be tolerated any more than the use of meth.

Devilboy 17y ago
Did you forget about the alcohol prohibition period?
- tsally 17y ago
  You're going to need to explain why you feel that Prohibition has any relevance to the points I made in my previous comment, because I'm not sure what you are getting at. Yes, religious movements caused alcohol to be banned for a period of time, but it was recognized as a mistake and repealed. Plus, it's not like Prohibition was a unanimous thing. There were 14 states that voted against it.