Did prohibition ever really end?

[darklordoftech]

While the 18th amendment was repealed and all 50 states allow some alcohol sales and consumption, all 50 states still ban drinking in public, all 50 states heavily restrict where alcohol is sold, American Medical Association will call you an "alcoholic" if you drink at certain times of day or drink amounts of alcohol that aren't dangerous, and there's a social stigma surrounding "needing alcohol to have fun".

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

I believe Colorado allows one to drink in public. There should be a stigma against substance abuse. And it is obviously ridiculous to conflate restrictions on anything with an outright, nationwide ban.

[DINGO Joe]

I can assure you that you can drink in public in New Orleans, you just have to do it in a "go" cup, not in a glass bottle.  OTOH, Pennsylvania has some of the most ridiculous liquor laws I've ever encountered, even if your in a bar or social club or whatever hoops you have to jump through to get a beer.

[Del Tachi]

I can assure you that you can drink in public in New Orleans, you just have to do it in a "go" cup, not in a glass bottle.  OTOH, Pennsylvania has some of the most ridiculous liquor laws I've ever encountered, even if your in a bar or social club or whatever hoops you have to jump through to get a beer.

Major reason why New Orleans is a massive FC.

When you do into liquor stores and buy fifths of alcohol the cashiers will even give you a go-cup for free, oh and the drive-thru daiquiri stands are amazing.

[dead0man]

and the best part is, you never run into violent or annoying drunks in New Orleans.....wait, nevermind.


But yeah, prohibition never stopped we just switched what we prohibited from drink (something actually dangerous) to weed, coke, hallucinogens, etc (things much less dangerous and often helpful).

[darklordoftech]

There should be a stigma against substance abuse.

"Thinking you need alcohol to have fun", or or that matter, actually "needing alcohol to have fun", isn't "substance abuse", and actual "substance abusers" need compassion if they are to get sober, not shame. I think much of the "thinking you need alcohol to have fun" stigma comes from teetotalers who are jealous of drunk people's social skills.

But yeah, prohibition never stopped we just switched what we prohibited from drink (something actually dangerous) to weed, coke, hallucinogens, etc (things much less dangerous and often helpful).

For all their talk about "victimless crimes", marijuana legalizers sure seem to hate alcohol. Everything I mentioned in the OP is as much a victimless crime as marijuana possession.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

as somebody who likes to drink, I can't help but feel that the sheer amount of posts I can recall you making about this issue is a bit ... worrisome.

[darklordoftech]

as somebody who likes to drink, I can't help but feel that the sheer amount of posts I can recall you making about this issue is a bit ... worrisome.

The last time I drank myself was over a year ago.

[dead0man]

There should be a stigma against substance abuse.

"Thinking you need alcohol to have fun", or or that matter, actually "needing alcohol to have fun", isn't "substance abuse", and actual "substance abusers" need compassion if they are to get sober, not shame. I think much of the "thinking you need alcohol to have fun" stigma comes from teetotalers who are jealous of drunk people's social skills.

But yeah, prohibition never stopped we just switched what we prohibited from drink (something actually dangerous) to weed, coke, hallucinogens, etc (things much less dangerous and often helpful).

For all their talk about "victimless crimes", marijuana legalizers sure seem to hate alcohol. Everything I mentioned in the OP is as much a victimless crime as marijuana possession.

the BIG difference is, I don't think drink should be banned.  Alcohol causes a LOT of real harm to society, way more than all other drugs combined (except cigs).  You can ignore that if you want, but others will keep pointing it out for you.

[Mazda]

While the 18th amendment was repealed and all 50 states allow some alcohol sales and consumption, all 50 states still ban drinking in public, all 50 states heavily restrict where alcohol is sold, American Medical Association will call you an "alcoholic" if you drink at certain times of day or drink amounts of alcohol that aren't dangerous, and there's a social stigma surrounding "needing alcohol to have fun".

Well, clearly not, as there's a huge difference between something being socially stigmatised and something being illegal.

As someone from outside the US, I can also confirm that none of these things are in any way unique to America or places which have had Prohibition.

Also, yes, if you are sculling jaegers with breakfast, you are an alcoholic. No two ways about it.

Restricting where (and how much) alcohol is sold is a really good idea because alcohol is a toxin which can cause harm to you and others. In the same way, we restrict the sale of guns, knives and prescription drugs. Yes, you could well be using them safely, but there's a chance you could kill someone, so as a society we decide to put security ahead of freedom.

In the same way, we have laws which restrict which public places you can get drunk in. This is because if you are knocking back cans in a public park, you are misusing the park and being a public nuisance. Liquor bans are also a useful way to help the police keep order, because alcohol lowers your  inhibitions and therefore makes you more likely to be noisy at 3 AM or commit a crime, and as a society, we value a low incidence of anti-social behaviour ahead of freedom.

While I agree that stigmatising alcoholics isn't the best way of fighting alcoholism, the idea that you need to have alcohol in order to have fun is, indeed, bullsh**t - as you are surely aware, not having drunk for a year. Claiming that it is true is usually an indicator of alcoholism, hence the unfortunate stigma.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Stigmatization is an important part of social norm-setting. Per my recollection, Italy loves to drink, but disapproves of drunkenness—and they face a low alcoholism rate. Ireland encourages both and has not been so lucky.

[darklordoftech]

I'd also like to point out that thanks to laws against drinking in public, a friend of mine had to leave her drink unattended when she went outside, and this resulted in her drink getting drugged. If the law let her drink in public, she could have kept her drink with her and it wouldn't have been drugged.

[CatoMinor]

I'm with Cath here. While people should obviously be free to drink, even in public so long as they aren't harming anyone, there is a serious underlying problem with someone if they think they "need" alcohol to have a good time and there being a certain stigma attached to that by societal norms that favor being responsible and not abusing a substance.

Back to the original point though, while the 18th amendment is in name dead, it's spirit certainly still lives on wreaking havoc across America.