ASSESSING 75 YEARS WITH LEGAL BEER

On April 7, 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt partially
repealed alcohol prohibition.

That day 75 years ago wasn't a time for hard liquor drinkers to
celebrate yet (at least for those who obeyed the law); only beer
became formally regulated that day. But it was a chink in the wall
the led to the eventual collapse of an institution that had wrecked
havoc on the country.

I imagine at the time, there were prohibitionists who predicted the
collapse of society. It did not come.

And now today, as we continue to take halting steps toward drug
policy reform, it important to remember both that fact, and,
another. The change came at a quick pace once it really started, but
it had to start in smaller steps.

The prohibitionist policies we have today are more complex - they are
a web of federal, state and local laws that reinforce each other in
ways that are difficult to unravel. But, slowly through the work of
activists specializing in different areas of the law, the policies
are slowly becoming unraveled.

So celebrate with a beer sometime this week, if you are an adult who
enjoys that sort of thing.

And then get ready to get to focus on the problems again as we
approach another significant date in the United States: April 15.

As the government sends back that tiny fraction of the taxes you've
paid this year (or if you're unlucky, demands more), think about how
much you labor you've expended over the past 12 months to support the
drug war, whether you wanted to or not.

Today, many state and local governments couldn't run without the
revenue they generate from legal alcohol sales. And of course, it
makes much more sense to draw public revenue from alcohol than it
does to spend public revenue in efforts to stamp it out.

People understood that 75 years ago with regard to beer. Many today
are starting to see it with cannabis.

Some are starting to see it with other drugs. There will be a time
when the end of drug prohibition is just an anniversary to be
celebrated, but there will be more than a few small steps, and less
notable anniversaries, on the way.