Crime
Despite the vision policy makers and law enforcement had about completely prohibiting alcohol, consumption still remained a social way of life for many, and demand for beer and liquor persisted. By taking away a common past time of its citizens, the United States government essentially gave up the economic prosperity which stemmed from the production of alcohol and turned the business over to criminal bootleggers. These new criminals organized themselves and worked together to create a monopolistic enterprise though out the United States, one that highly relied on their illegal liquor trafficking. With the social support of American consumers and the continued high demand for alcohol, these organized crime gangs quickly gained financial support. With a restriction on alcohol by the government , the new financial support of these criminal organizations translated into power. Soon the power-hungry gangs began to fight for distribution rights in territories of the major cities. Violence between gangs was not uncommon. A well-known example of the violence occurred in 1929 when the St. Valentine's Day Massacre left seven members of the North Side Irish gang led by the infamous mob boss Bugs Moran, dead in the streets of Chicago. The "hit" was ordered by mob boss Al Capone of the rival South Side Italian Gang (O'Brien, 2013).
Law enforcement officials and the government were not able to put an end to the violence because corruption of the entire United State's legal system was out of control. The Volstead Act quickly destroyed the liquor industry, the seventh-largest business in the U.S. and tens of thousand of people lost their jobs. Besides the willingness of the recently unemployed, many high-placed government workers were easily bribed and even became part of the organized crime mobs' clientele while those who resisted were threatened with harm.
For the next 13 years, prohibition corrupted and tormented Americans from coast to coast. A disrespect and even a contempt for law and due process quickly infected the view that the country's citizens had toward their government. High unemployment, high crime, and low expectations of a better tomorrow did not discourage liquor consumption, but rather it caused it to increase. Taking a drink in prohibition became a sign of defiance against the same government whose founding members had dumped a ship full of tea in Boston Harbor. The arrogant minority who had passed the Volstead Act were seen as depriving the people they represented of the right to enjoy themselves. The 1920s roared with amorality since most people felt that it could not get much worse and this point of view was projected in all directions, including Wall Street. When everything came crashing down in 1929 and the Great Depression began, large numbers of people pointed to Prohibition as one of the chief reasons for the disaster. The irony was that the "arrogant minority" was the only group in society that had anything left to lose and they did in the crash of the stock market.
In 1933 , a newly-elected President Theodore Roosevelt repealed the 18th Amendment and ended prohibition. The evil effects of prohibition's enforcement still linger to this day, most notably in the influence of organized crime, better known as the Mafia which has morphed into the gangs and cartels of our current drug war in the U.S.
Similar to the crime committed during the Prohibition Era, the current War on Drugs produces unnecessary crime. The crime occurring within our borders can be strongly attributed to illegal movement of drugs. Much like the gang violence between rival mobsters of the 20's over the distribution of alcohol to the American citizens, violence on the streets of major cities can now be tied to territories being fought over by drug cartels. We still see a staggering amount of convictions based on possession and not trafficking. Federal marijuana prisoners in 2004 reached 11,630 and state prisoners were at 33,186. This only adddresses people in prisons and excludes the 700,000+ offenders who may be in local jails because of a marijuana conviction (Mumola, 2007). In a December 14, 2012 interview with ABC News, President Obama stated that recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a top priority of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs. He said, "we've got bigger fish to fry".
Law enforcement officials and the government were not able to put an end to the violence because corruption of the entire United State's legal system was out of control. The Volstead Act quickly destroyed the liquor industry, the seventh-largest business in the U.S. and tens of thousand of people lost their jobs. Besides the willingness of the recently unemployed, many high-placed government workers were easily bribed and even became part of the organized crime mobs' clientele while those who resisted were threatened with harm.
For the next 13 years, prohibition corrupted and tormented Americans from coast to coast. A disrespect and even a contempt for law and due process quickly infected the view that the country's citizens had toward their government. High unemployment, high crime, and low expectations of a better tomorrow did not discourage liquor consumption, but rather it caused it to increase. Taking a drink in prohibition became a sign of defiance against the same government whose founding members had dumped a ship full of tea in Boston Harbor. The arrogant minority who had passed the Volstead Act were seen as depriving the people they represented of the right to enjoy themselves. The 1920s roared with amorality since most people felt that it could not get much worse and this point of view was projected in all directions, including Wall Street. When everything came crashing down in 1929 and the Great Depression began, large numbers of people pointed to Prohibition as one of the chief reasons for the disaster. The irony was that the "arrogant minority" was the only group in society that had anything left to lose and they did in the crash of the stock market.
In 1933 , a newly-elected President Theodore Roosevelt repealed the 18th Amendment and ended prohibition. The evil effects of prohibition's enforcement still linger to this day, most notably in the influence of organized crime, better known as the Mafia which has morphed into the gangs and cartels of our current drug war in the U.S.
Similar to the crime committed during the Prohibition Era, the current War on Drugs produces unnecessary crime. The crime occurring within our borders can be strongly attributed to illegal movement of drugs. Much like the gang violence between rival mobsters of the 20's over the distribution of alcohol to the American citizens, violence on the streets of major cities can now be tied to territories being fought over by drug cartels. We still see a staggering amount of convictions based on possession and not trafficking. Federal marijuana prisoners in 2004 reached 11,630 and state prisoners were at 33,186. This only adddresses people in prisons and excludes the 700,000+ offenders who may be in local jails because of a marijuana conviction (Mumola, 2007). In a December 14, 2012 interview with ABC News, President Obama stated that recreational users of marijuana in states that have legalized the substance should not be a top priority of federal law enforcement officials prosecuting the war on drugs. He said, "we've got bigger fish to fry".
"Marijuana prohibition in the U.S. is steering profits from marijuana sales toward cartels and gangs instead of legitimate, tax-paying businesses. In doing so, it is propping up these criminal enterprises and subsidizing their other illegal activities, including human trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, and the sale of other drugs. Much of the violence escalating on the Mexican border revolves around the actions of Mexican drug cartels who fight over profits from marijuana sales. Whether they are large-scale drug cartels or small-town street gangs, the vast supply and demand surrounding marijuana will ensure they have a constant stream of profits to subsidize other illegal activities. Regulating marijuana like alcohol would eliminate this income source and, in turn, eliminate the violence and turf battles associated with the illegal marijuana market."
-Mason Tvert: Member of Colorado's Marijuana Policy Review Panel
FIGURE IN TOP LEFT CORNER: Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Historical Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1975), part 1, p. 414.
Shown above is data regarding the homicide rate per population of 100,000 people. By looking at the graph, the increase in crime is clearly correlated to the presence of the 18th amendment. A rise in crime occurs the same year as the ratification and the rates continue to climb. It is not until the amendment is repealed in 1933, that the homicide incidence rates begins to decrease.