PROHIBITION, WAR ON DRUGS

Prohibition, War on Drugs

Prohibition, War on Drugs

Introduction

Prohibition was an era of almost 14 years of U.S history in which the production, trade and shipping of strong liquor goes against the law. It began on January 16th, 1920, and was a period in which even the average and the citizens who were in noble books of the court broke the law. It led to the first and the only amendment to the U.S constitution. After the American Resolution, alcohol was on the mount. Various societies developed, to combat this problem, as an element of the temperance movement which made an attempt to discourage people from becoming drunk. In the beginning, this organization focused on the limited consumption of alcohol, but later when they saw that it was not working out, the movement changed its focus from moderation to a complete ban of alcohol consumption. The movement blamed alcohol responsible for the increasing rate of crime and murder in the country at that time, (Barnham, 1999).

Discussion

Reasons for the implementation of Prohibition

The prohibition's main aim was to reduce crime and fraud, decrease social problems, lower taxes to look after prisons and poorhouses, and enhance health and sanitation in America. Number of accidents increased, due to alcohol, as people used to drive while they were drunk. There are other reasons too that led to the prohibition of alcohol which is as follows:

Medical

Political

Economic

Social

Medical

It's medically proved that too much intake of intoxication leads to poor health and give rise to various other diseases. By that time, people have to become conscious that alcohol is damaging their health and could affect their lives in a very negative way. Many American men suffered from Sclerosis, caused by drinking too much alcohol, and lung cancer from smoking cigarettes. Those people went through it badly and sooner or later died. Because of this, many children struggled with their lives devoid of their fathers, which led to families' financial troubles. Moreover, this increased medical bills, which was unaffordable, and increased government expenditure.

Political

Many votes gained in rural areas because the politicians assured to support prohibition, which assisted those politicians to win the election.

Economic

Since, everyone remain indulged in drinking, even the laborers whose level of output produced, will affect the productivity level of the industries, started drinking up to the extent that their output level decreased badly, which further shrieked the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and GNP (Gross National Product) of the country. The country was in an economic loss and less efficient, due to the substantial decrease. The level of absenteeism also increased, and the quality of production was decreased. People also argued, that all the brewers were situated in Germany, who exports beer to rest of the countries, and instead of providing profits to Germany by buying beer, it is better spend money on other necessities of life.

Social

The most salient point, to agree upon was the husbands were spending larger amount of their income on alcohol and other drugs, instead of spending it on their ...