48
Alcohol prohibition is not entirely wrong... (reddthat.com)
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by EmbarrassedBenefit3@reddthat.com to c/unpopularopinion@lemmy.world
61 comments fedilink hide all child comments

...if it is a time-bound prohibition, maybe in the order of a few weeks, so society can rethink about their consumption habits.

Indefinite prohibition, of the kind that was amended in the US constitution, denies the human desire to consume alcohol and pretend it can be legislated away. A cursory reading of the Wikipedia article on the capital-P Prohibition showed lasting effects in alcohol consumption (I guess, good in the sense that there's changes in domestic abuse patterns, for example?) and organized crime (bad, with Al Capone and people like him)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] Mulligrubs@lemmy.world 11 points 1 day ago

You are correct, there are lasting effects in alcohol consumption.

Unfortunately, there are also lasting effects in alcohol prohibition. The costs of prohibition far outweigh the costs of consumption.

Humans have consumed alcohol for thousands of years, in many cultures, daily or near daily. It's been banned a few times, and the costs are great. We know what they are.

  1. When you ban any very popular thing, you create a black market for that thing. In the case of a alcohol prohibition, a fantastically large and well-funded black market. This black market will murder many people to continue to make outrageous amounts of money (much more than anyone makes when it is legal).
  2. Home-made alcohol will be sold by that black market. Just like drugs, people will cut that alcohol to make larger profits. A lot of people will get sick and/or die from the various problems that arise with that. Much more than alcohol alone.
  3. Alcohol is a part of nature, you can't get rid of it. It's a byproduct of food. Food can also cause lasting effects from consumption. Very costly effects; obesity, addiction, heart disease, and so on are all often byproducts of food. Yeah, there are lasting effects from consumption. You don't need alcohol to live, you don't need Twinkies to live, and so on. Just... let it go. It's a never ending quest for control that leads straight to hell.
  4. So not only do you have larger black markets with more money, and not only do you have increased workload for medical facilities everywhere, you also have to have a police force to suppress all of this now illegal drinking. You can pretend that these are robots that won't abuse power, but they aren't, and they will abuse power, and people will die. (and a lot of cops drink).
  5. This doesn't even scratch the costs of prohibition. I could write a book. Instead, other authors have written about it, and they are much smarter than me. See Peter McWilliams, "Ain't Nobody's Business if you Do". His death was tragically connected to prohibition, but I'd have to write another book.
this post was submitted on 19 Sep 2026
48 points (77.9% liked)

Unpopular Opinion

9466 readers
380 users here now

Welcome to the Unpopular Opinion community!

How voting works:

Vote the opposite of the norm.

If you agree that the opinion is unpopular give it an arrow up. If it's something that's widely accepted, give it an arrow down.

Guidelines:

Tag your post, if possible (not required)

  • If your post is a "General" unpopular opinion, start the subject with [GENERAL].
  • If it is a Lemmy-specific unpopular opinion, start it with [LEMMY].

Rules:

1. NO POLITICS

Politics is everywhere. Let's make this about [general] and [lemmy] - specific topics, and keep politics out of it.

2. Be civil.

Disagreements happen, but that doesn’t provide the right to personally attack others. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Please also refrain from gatekeeping others' opinions.

3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.

Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.

4. Shitposts and memes are allowed but...

Only until they prove to be a problem. They can and will be removed at moderator discretion.

5. No trolling.

This shouldn't need an explanation. If your post or comment is made just to get a rise with no real value, it will be removed. You do this too often, you will get a vacation to touch grass, away from this community for 1 or more days. Repeat offenses will result in a perma-ban.

6. Defend your opinion

This is a bit of a mix of rules 4 and 5 to help foster higher quality posts. You are expected to defend your unpopular opinion in the post body. We don't expect a whole manifesto (please, no manifestos), but you should at least provide some details as to why you hold the position you do.

Instance-wide rules always apply. https://legal.lemmy.world/tos/

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
JonsJava@lemmy.world
technopagan@lemmy.world
Dremor@lemmy.world