Leah Welborn
Happy anniversary of the ratification of the 21st Amendment to the Constitution! That’s right, this week marks 84 years since the end of the prohibition of liquor. Considering the prevalence of alcohol in our country today, it’s hard to imagine it being illegal everywhere, for everyone. But that’s exactly what happened with the passage of 18th Amendment in 1919. It made the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages illegal until it was repealed by the 21st Amendment in December of 1933.
But when have laws ever been able to keep people from getting what they want? The era of Prohibition is associated with gangsters and illegal liquor for good reason. Mobsters like Al Capone got rich from the black market for alcohol, and illegal bars called speakeasies were all the rage. The Roaring 20s seem like a whole lot of fun now, but countless lives were ruined because of the crime and violence associated with the illegal liquor trade.
Now, those of us who advocate for the end of the prohibition of cannabis know this story all too well. Making something people love illegal does nothing but increase criminal activity. Sound familiar? The prohibition of alcohol lasted 14 years, but that of cannabis is now in its 80th year. And while those of us fortunate enough to live in states that have legalized are able to visit dispensaries as easily as we visit liquor stores, we have to remember that our favorite herb is still federally illegal, and every day people are arrested for its possession.
How long will it be until cannabis is federally legal? Too long for those who are incarcerated for its use. At The Green Solution®, we look forward to the time when we remember cannabis prohibition as a crazy anomaly in American history.