[El Gato]

A little history. Prior to Prohibition, about half the states banned alcohol in one form or another. There was such a problem with "wet" states smuggling alcohol to the "dry" states that those "dry" states asked the federal government for help. The Webb-Kenyon Act was passed making it a federal crime to do this. It didn't work. Finally, Prohibition came about, which solved the problem

I think a few million people would disagree. Not to mention all the Congressmen, and state legislators, who saw it didn't work, and repealed it. But in meantime, prohibition "made" organized crime.

Clearly Congress had the power to prohibit shipping alcholhol into dry states, since that would indeed be interstate commerce. At least then they recognized that they had no power to just ban alcohol sales entirely, and passed, with the help of the States, a Constitutional Amendment to do it, and to give them the power to enforce that ban. They no longer have that power, the people took it back.

[robertpaulsen]

I meant it solved the problem of "wet" states shipping to "dry" states. All states were now "dry", which made it more difficult but not impossible.

"They no longer have that power, the people took it back.

Section 1 of the 21st amendment repealed the 18th. That put everything back to where it was before the 18th was passed, correct? And you say the government, before the 18th, had no power to regulate/prohibit alcohol within the states.

Then why Section 2 of the 21st amendment, removing the power to regulate alcohol from the federal government and returning that power exclusively to the states? In other words, why remove a power you say the government didn't have?