What if pot and alcohol switched seats?

[Bullett00th]

I've always wondered. Alcohol has occupied a significant place in our traditions, history, economy and leisure.

Nonetheless we?ve had some countries try prohibiting alcohol, to no avail obviously? However! What if one country?s government decided to do a switch, prohibit alcohol and legalize marijuana, all at the same time investing into pushing it into mass market. How would this affect the society?

Just a hypothetical situation that made me wonder. Will the society accept it? Will they be able to do the switch? Will it lead to a better or worse community?

[LotsaBadKarma]

I don't know that things would get better or worse as far as the community is concerned. The number of DUI related deaths on the highway would probably drop due to the effects of each substance on the human brain.

Speaking specifically of the crime thing, however, I think that it would tend to be about the same. When governments ban something that creates an automatic black market for the substance because the need for it is still there. The citizenry will always find a way to get what they want in spite of what the government says is good for them.

Even if you could get a "medical alcohol" card or have alcohol prescribed I don't believe that it would affect peoples' need or want for booze. There would still be people who would step outside the law for the occasional Caucasian.

When you come right down to it I guess this is the ultimate private property issue. What could possibly fall more under the definition of private property than your own body? Yet the gummint sees fit to regulate what you can and can't put into it. Strangely enough they have never seen fit to regulate cigarettes so something other than our "best interests" seems to be involved.

[Judd Dude]

Prolly be a huge surge in sales of home brewing supplies...

[BikerDude]

We've already seen what would happen.
It was called prohibition and it resulted in a huge surge in organized Crime.
I don't think that having weed legal would change that.
In fact it was legal during prohibition.