Monday, February 04, 2019

Prohibitionists Gonna Prohibit

     So, recreational marijuana is increasingly legal at the state level,* Sunday liquor sales have come to Indiana, and in lovely, tropical Hawaii....

     In Hawaii, they're looking to ban cigarettes in a manner that would make the Volstead Act look like a polite suggestion: the minimum purchase age would rise to 30 next year, 50 in 2022 and by 2024, no one, no matter how old, would be allowed to purchase cigarettes.  Legally, that is, and what possible chance is there that a black market would arise for a prohibited product of that nature, especially one readily available elsewhere?

     Generations of bootleggers and drug dealers are laughing.

     The preamble to the bill states, “The cigarette is considered the deadliest artifact in human history,” though without telling reader by whom.  The simple club, edged weapons and nuclear weapons were unavailable for comment.

     Cigarettes will shorten your life.  They're not really much fun.  But an outright ban is not the best way to be rid of them.  The bill in Hawaii hasn't got much chance of becoming law -- and even lower chances of succeeding if it does.
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* There are only three (3) states where pot is entirely illegal; the remainder range from closely-controlled medical-use programs to complete legality -- at the state level.  The Feds are not impressed, but so far have been unwilling to press the issue.

4 comments:

Jay Dee said...

Minnesota pot dispensaries are state owned and state run. They losing money.

rickn8or said...

I guess then that Hawaii has found another revenue stream besides the tourist industry?

Jay Dee, that doesn't surprise me at all, considering the apocryphal story of the IRS trying to run the taken-over brothel and going bankrupt.

Anonymous said...

I'll be too old by 2024 to care, but if Hawaii could move the total cig ban up to, say, this June, I'll invest a few bucks in what would undoubtedly be an epic level of black marketeering; I could generate enough money to make Jeff Bezos' bank account look like squeegee bum change in about 6 months.

Will said...

rickn8or:
NOT apocryphal. Brothel in NV. Took it for tax reasons, of course, and made a shambles of trying to run it to make money to get that tax bite back, or find a buyer. Can't recall which, maybe both. I have a vague recollection that the original owner got it back from the IRS, so they could maybe get some of that tax money out of him. HE knew how to run it.

One of the odd things about nicotine is it turns out to control ADHD to some extent. Not sure if it works as well as the prescription meds, but it eliminates all the DEA caused problems of getting a proper medical supply of same. Got a nephew who deliberately took up smoking for this reason. Probably cheaper, in the short term. The future health problems, though...
I wasn't happy to hear about this, as I am off the allergy scale when it comes to that stuff.