How about you do a quick web search and then tell us how many people are killed every year in drunk driving accidents. (And i'm not even asking about deaths from alcohol induced liver disease.)
And then you can tell us how things are so much better with that many people dying every year.
I have long suspected that an objective analysis of the pros and cons of prohibition would not work out so badly for prohibition.
So that's a long-winded yes-we-should-re-ban-alcohol.
The cons of Prohibition: 'Although consumption of alcohol fell at the beginning of Prohibition, it subsequently increased. Alcohol became more dangerous to consume; crime increased and became "organized"; the court and prison systems were stretched to the breaking point; and corruption of public officials was rampant. No measurable gains were made in productivity or reduced absenteeism. Prohibition removed a significant source of tax revenue and greatly increased government spending. It led many drinkers to switch to opium, marijuana, patent medicines, cocaine, and other dangerous substances that they would have been unlikely to encounter in the absence of Prohibition.
'Those results are documented from a variety of sources, most of which, ironically, are the work of supporters of Prohibition'
- Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure
The pros of Prohibition: It made 'Progressives' and other nanny-statists feel good.
No, it's a long winded "How about you be honest about the damage caused by Alcohol?" I see that you didn't, so I don't think i'll bother with the rest of your comment.
Is it so hard to look up the deaths and injuries caused by alcohol every year? Google works pretty well, and it's not all that difficult.
To hear your side talk about it there *IS* no downside to legalized Alcohol. Reality however differs quite a lot. I have quite a lot of experience with the down side of legal Alcohol.
My own father was a drunk who abandoned us when I was just a few years old. I have no memory of him. My uncle Billy was killed by a drunk driver, my other two uncles were badly injured in that same accident. My Grandfather died of sclerosis of the liver caused by excessive drinking. My Uncle Joe was shot and killed by his drunk wife while he was beating her while he was drunk. His son, my cousin Calvin, was killed because he was so drunk that a friend was taking him home, but he wanted to go back to drink more, and opened his door and fell out of the truck at highway speeds.
My Uncle John drank till the point of being unable to handle his own affairs, and so the state came in and took custody of him and put him in a nursing home. My Brother was a drunk for years, relying for his living on his military retirement, but he has straightened up in the last couple of years. A Woman I knew just died of sclerosis of the liver two weeks ago. A friend just died of the same thing three years ago. I know several people who are currently killing themselves with Alcohol. (and other drugs, including pot.)
I could go on and on regarding people whom I know to have been killed or damaged by alcohol, but I doubt a bigger list would make much of an impression on your belief that legal alcohol is completely victimless. I expect you to go on believing that there is no down side to legal alcohol even though this is very much not true.
Society has decided that 65,000 dead people per year is a small price to pay to keep the spirits flowing. Whom am I to suggest it isn't paradise?