Legalizing Drugs In Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather

While the temperance movement was popular since the early nineteenth century, the epitome of the concept occurred during the Prohibition Era. During World War I, there were concerns in the United States about conserving grain and having a sober working class. In 1919, Congress adopted the 18th Amendment which banned the manufacturing and sale of all alcoholic beverages. Prohibition was a necessary precaution during the 1920s due to the social immorality created by alcohol, the economic drawbacks from the production and sale of alcoholic beverages, and the political corruption caused by alcohol.

The ability to be able to have so much power and influence over so many things that affect our lives is inconceivable. From simple activities of a normal daily life to how a country can run and how it may flourish, the effects that drug trafficking has grown to new heights. The war on drugs has long been a struggle in many different countries and goes across the entire world. While some countries have been able to limit the trafficking, others struggle to contain it and simply cannot stop it. Drug trafficking has a great power and influence over how many things function such as the economy, daily living, and politics, but could be combatted with different strategies such as legalisation.

Illicit drugs are drugs that have been considered illegal, such as, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana, in some locations (Levinthal, 2016). Legislating drugs began around 1900. In essence, the government let society govern the use and opinions of drugs. Most of society looked down upon the nonmedical use of drugs. Furthermore, several acts were enacted to regulate the use of specific drugs as well as the federal prohibition of alcohol. But in 1933, Prohibition ended, making it legal to consume alcohol again. In the 1970’s, drugs were categorized based on their “potential for abuse” (Levinthal, 2016). Unfortunately, many of the illicit drugs are manufactured outside of the United States. As such, the war on drugs has to be fought on a global

enforcing the Prohibition would decrease crime rates. On the contrary, they increased. Franklin D. Roosevelt pledged to the end the Prohibition. Shortly after, in 1923, the 21st Amendment was put into place. The 21st Amendment repealed the ban on alcohol. Certain states chose to remain dry after the Prohibition. These states were: North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Mississippi. By 1966, all 50 states had abandoned Prohibition.

For example, agencies have been established with the sole intent to manage drug use and distribution and technology has been exclusively developed to detect the presence of drugs. Yet, evidence has indicated that such exhaustive efforts have been relatively unsuccessful. First, it has been assumed that drugs have perpetuated violence in society and based on this rationale, it was believed that by the suppressing the pervasiveness of drugs that incidents of violence would simultaneously diminish. However, reality has failed to align with the expectations that had initially been anticipated. Research findings have suggested that the decriminalization of drugs would result in a less adversarial drug market in which conflicts have tended to arise among dealers as well as between dealers and buyers (Common Sense for Drug Policy, 2007, p. 21). Essentially, although drugs have been held accountable for gang violence and other acts of violence that have occurred within communities, the illegality of drugs indeed may have aggravated the situation.

When the 18th Amendment (Prohibition) was thought of, we thought that it would help us. We thought it would take the crime rates down; however we never dreamed it would bring them up. From 1919 to 1933 the crime rates went up tremendously, prohibition helped the bootleggers, the dope sellers, the gangsters, and the racketeers. This time period became known as the great depression. Why did Americans repeal the 18th Amendment and make alcohol legal again?

The 18th Amendment or the Prohibition amendment of the United States Constitution banned the sale, distribution, and making of all alcoholic beverages. It was passed on December 18, 1917 and was later ratified on January 16,1919. This is when the movement finally reached its apex. Prohibition proved difficult to enforce and failed to have the intended effect of eliminating crime. (History.com) The drinking age was 18 after it got changed from 21. Religious groups believed drunkenness was a threat to the nation, so they worked hard to create this amendment. This movement was know as revivalism and also inspired people to end slavery. Prohibition was known as the noble experiment. Although the motives of the eighteenth amendment were

Things were really bad in 1920, when the National Prohibition Act was passed. The act made it illegal to drink, sell, or buy alcohol. This really enraged people, causing a huge crime surge. The law was passed to decrease crime, but the opposite happened. Alcohol was still being sold, made, and drunk. This surge created gangsters that ruled the cities. Those gangsters became richer and richer, more powerful and selfish. Some of the biggest gangsters didn’t still rule the streets, they ruled in jail too. They bribed guards, politician, and even police. On the other hand, they killed them too. While people lived in complete fear. Super- gangsters ruled everything, so someone thought it was time to change all that. All this caused the creation

Prohibition was a period of time of American history during which alcohol was banned. Lasting from 1920-1933, this era influenced America to become dry. The federal government banned alcohol due to the problem of domestic violence, which caused many men to physically beat their wives. This violence was a major factor in why alcohol was banned in the United States. Although prohibition was meant to make America safer, it led to increased bootlegging, more illegal bars, and organized crime (Prohibition and the American Gangster: Discovery Education). Prohibition started the gangster era which led to gang-warfare and crooked police making the United States corrupted (Behr 177).

In the 1920s the 18th amendment made all sale and distribution of alcohol illegal. Many people were divided and there were the wets who supported alcohol and the drys who wanted it gone. The drys believed alcohol was evil, they also believed by banning alcohol would bring families closer , lessen crime, and make people better. Unfortunately the amendment caused so much money loss. Many people went out of business because of the law. People that supported the law thought it would make other things sales boost but instead they went down even more. Since it was illegal to sell alcohol many people turned to bootleg alcohol which was very toxic. It caused so much deaths and the crime rate actually increased. Many people became criminals by selling

Within a community which legalizes drugs, consumers experience just the downsides of usage. Using prohibition, furthermore, they stake offense, penalties and fees, losing specialized permits, and others. Therefore prohibition unambiguously damages people who benefit from regardless of prohibition. And also prohibition does indeed, come with large expenses, irrespective of how dangerous drugs is perhaps. (SPIEGEL ONLINE,

It’s nearly dawn, shadows seem to roam everywhere. There’s a party in a speakeasy that you can only find if you know a certain somebody. The lights are dazing and too bright to really focus on any one person but no one minds; they are all having too much fun to notice someone sneak into the area. The music changes from fun to screeches and gunshots. A gangster had gone after his rival that had been in that speakeasy. This is what the 1930’s had actually been like. Americans have always been able to relate and admire rebels, gangsters in the 1920’s and 1930’s were their rebels with a cause. Gangsters went through and got what they want, at any cost, their problem had been prohibition and the government’s meddling, that had appealed to Americans

The Prohibition, for example was the ban of liquor from being manufactured and sold. In 1906 the Anti- Saloon League started making attacks on the sale of liquor. In turn many factories supported the ban of alcohol, (the Prohibition) so they could prevent any accidents to come and increase worker efficiency. In order to save grain for producing food there was, in 1917 after World War one started, a wartime prohibition. The 18th Amendment was then suggested by Congress which banned the manufacture, transportation and sale of intoxicating liquors, for state ratification. Within just 11 months three-quarters of the United States supported the 18th Amendment. The 18th Amendment went into effect a year later in 1919 and that October the Nation Prohibition Act was enforced which gave the guidelines for the Prohibition. On January 16, 1920 at 12 A.M. the federal Volstead Act had had every tavern, saloon and bar in the United States shut down. Though there was a decline in arrests for drunkenness and there was a 30 percent drop in alcohol consumption, there were people who still wanted to drink and they did find a way to do it. From this came bootleggers, racketeers, and other crime figures who sold illegal drinks under the table. Throughout the years it was hard for the federal government to control the enforcement of the Prohibition for there was a growth in the smuggling of alcohol across state lines, sells of

The effects of legalizing drugs would not have a major effect on organized crime. Situation in the past support the theory that organize crime would still thrive even without the sale of illegal drugs. The corruption, extortion, and trafficking would still be a major source of organized crimes income. In the 1920’s and early 30s when we had prohibition crime groups ran the illegal “speak easy”. The sale of illegal alcohol is similar to the sale of illegal drugs today. When prohibition ended the organized crime groups did not disappear, they still had many other enterprising ventures they were part of.

The main goal of organised criminal groups is profit, so there are issues with crime syndicates being involved in illegal logging, cybercrime, piracy, and more. However these examples are less relevant in cities. The most pertinent activities affecting urban areas due to organised crime are trafficking in drugs, light weapons, humans; violence; and corruption.