[Roscoe]

It is worthwhile for self-proclaimed "conservatives" to consider the fact that in 1919, Congress and the nation thought it necessary to pass a Constitutional Amendment to ban alcoholic beverages.

That Urban Myth again?

"National prohibition took effect at midnight, January 16, 1920, one year after ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment. BUT, the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act of August 1917 banned the production of distilled spirits for the duration of the war. The War Prohibition Act of November 1918 forbade the manufacture and sale of all intoxicating beverages of more than 2.75 percent alcohol content, beer and wine as well as hard liquor, until demobilization was completed."

The Prohibition Amendment was enacted because Temperance forces saw it as less susceptible to repeal than legislation.

"An amendment to the Constitution obviously appealed to temperance reformers more than a federal statute banning liquor. A simple congressional majority could adopt a statute but, with the shift of a relatively few votes, could likewise topple one. Drys feared that an ordinary law would be in constant danger of being overturned owing to pressure from liquor industry interests or the growing population of liquor-using immigrants. A constitutional amendment, on the other hand, though more difficult to achieve, would be impervious to change. Their reform would not only have been adopted, the Anti-Saloon League reasoned, but would be protected from future human weakness and backsliding."

Repealing National Prohibition by David Kyvig, Copyright 1979 by the University of Chicago

[MrLeRoy]

From the same document: "The debate proceeded along conservative-progressive lines. [...] Some southern conservatives expressed concern about the growing power of the federal government and the intervention of that government into local affairs."

And Roscoe is on the "progressive" side against the conservatives. Whaddayaknow.

[LO_IQ]

Shoud we bring back a federal alcohol ban?

Last year, 17,448 were killed in alcohol-related crashes - representing 41 percent of all traffic deaths.

More than 500,000 Americans are injured annually in crashes involving alcohol.

The annual economic cost of alcohol-related crashes exceeds $114 billion.

Link

How effective are the national campaigns against drinking and driving?

Alarmingly, the 2001 survey shows 25 million (one in 10) Americans surveyed reported driving under the influence of alcohol - nearly three million more than the previous year. Among young adults aged 18 to 25 years, almost 23 percent, drove under the influence of alcohol.

Unfortunately, there was little change in the rate of underage drinking. More than 10 million 12 - 20 year-olds reported drinking alcohol in the year prior to the survey. Of those, nearly 6.8 million (19 percent) were binge drinkers and 2.1 million (6 percent) were heavy drinkers.

Among the 12 to 17 year olds, underage drinking rates increased, with more than 17 percent using alcohol compared to approximately 16 percent in the year 2000. Link