If coffee and alcohol were to become illegal how much would you care?

[Cruzan]

I'm a regular consumer of each, but if for some imaginable reason their recreational use was banned, I don't think I'd get all that excited about it. Just wondering how others would feel.

[old mark]

1. I haven't had any alcohol for going on 22 years, but I will fight for my coffee

and tea.

mark

[quiller4]

68. I haven't had any alcohol in 24+ years. As long as I can have tea I wouldn't much care.

[roguevalley]

92. I drink neither. no problem here.

[cali]

2. I'd adapt. Could I still use wine for cooking? Coffee for flavoring?

[callous taoboy]

3. I heard that coffee was once illegal, hence the coffeehouse.

I've cut way back on coffee, so I'd just have to adjust to having no coffee.

[CBR]

4. I like alcohol but I could live without it. Coffee on the other hand... nt

[RadiationTherapy]

5. Depends on whether 1 person is arrested every 38 seconds for possession.

Depends on whether a person could lose their livelihoods for possession of columbian supremo coffee.

[Fleshdancer]

71. +1

Hands off my coffee. It's the only thing making me a productive member of the human race before 11 am.

[Laelth]

6. I would care a great deal.

We tried banning alcohol once in our national history. That didn't work out too well. I would resist un-learning that historical lesson.

:dem:

-Laelth

[csziggy]

63. Agreed - Prohibition was a failure

And led to the same kind of violence we are seeing now with violence over drugs. Obviously we have not learned that lesson or drugs would be legal and better regulated - and taxed.

[sarge43]

7. Booze (shrug), coffee (Of course you know this means war) n/t

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. Meh.

Don't use either, but wouldn't want to see them banned.

[exboyfil]

9. Same for me

I think we should be expanding liberties (ie legalizing drugs for adults) and not reducing them.

[Meeker Morgan]

10. Drive by shootings over coffee territory? n/t

[MrModerate]

11. Prohibition of intoxicants doesn't work and is contraliberty . . .

Not to mention obnoxious, unnecessary, and intrusive.

If the level of stupid in the government were to go up even more (and trying such a stunt would be a clear indication that it had) I'd be appalled and worried.

Besides, I can get by without alcohol. I can't get by without coffee.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

12. Would they make another Miami Vice where Crockett and Tubbs

are going after Juan Valdez and the crates are full of Java?? It might be worth the sacrifice.


http://www.coffeehabitat.com/2007/01/illegal_coffee_.html
The coffee is being grown inside Indonesia's Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, which has over 300 bird species and is one of the few places where the endangered Sumatran subspecies of tigers, elephants, and rhinos coexist. This park has already lost 30% of its land to illegal agriculture, mainly coffee. WWF found 173 square miles being used for illegal coffee growing, with a yield of nearly 20,000 tons of coffee annually. Wildlife has abandoned these cultivated areas. WWF tracked the illegal coffee from the park through export routes to multinational coffee companies using satellite imaging, interviews with coffee farmers and traders, and trade route monitoring.

[Altoid_Cyclist]

20. Interesting link.

It seems as though the human race will always find an illegal and/or environmentally destructive alternative to further their greed.

That will be our epitaph.

[amandabeech]

60. Thanks. I won't choose Sumatra. n/t

[crazyjoe]

13. if they banned alchohol, cops wouldn't have anything to do

on saturday night.

[Fumesucker]

37. Not so.. Busting crackhou... err.. speakeasies would keep them very busy on Sat night..

Given that about 75% of American adults consume alcoholic beverages the cops would be very busy indeed.

[blogslut]

14. As long as I have sugar and yeast

...I have alcohol.

As for coffee? I would damned sad if it were made illegal but it won't be so there's that.

[LeftyMom]

15. I don't care for one and only rarely bother with the other, but I think banning them would be dumb.

[Solly Mack]

16. Don't threaten the coffee. Don't even look at it. Just back off now.

I'm just thinking of others. I'm a lot nicer person with coffee.

[susanr516]

84. +1

No one in my family speaks to me until I finish my first pint-sized mug of java. I'm one ugly creature when I'm decaffeinated.

[no_hypocrisy]

17. I could make my own beer and wine but not coffee.

That might get ugly.

[TorchTheWitch]

18. I'd have to find another career

and so would scores of other people. We tried outlawing alcohol and it didn't work. i'm not seeing any reason why coffee would be outlawed either... nothing wrong with caffeine and it's in lots of other things besides coffee.

[ejpoeta]

19. i don't drink alcohol but rarely... so i would not really miss it. but i NEED coffee....

i can't live without my coffee... even if it does give me a headache.

[mrs_p]

21. the alcohol would be hard but doable - coffee,

on the other hand, impossible. coffee would be something worth fighting for....

[Bluenorthwest]

22. First off, things don't 'become illegal' they are made illegal

by people. And if certain dogmatic bastards were to do such a thing, they'd be asking for it. Period. This is the sort of thinking that tells me we must remain on guard against the religious nuts.
Of course the anti gay LDS is opposed to coffee and alcohol. The only ones who are to my knowledge.

[etherealtruth]

23. I have never cared one way or another about alcohol ....

.... however, coffee is something I could/would maim for :)

[StarfarerBill]

24. I don't drink alcohol at all...

...but daaaaaaamn, I'd miss coffee if it was made illegal.

[NYC_SKP]

25. Users can just switch to Tea and Absynth. Or Cocoa and Quaaludes.

These are probably less harmful.

:donut:

[marmar]

26. No Coffee No Peace

[JVS]

27. Go ahead and ban coffee, I don't care.

But leave the booze alone.

[TwilightGardener]

28. Hardly ever drink alcohol. Coffee... I'd be forced to break the law.

[edhopper]

29. itz 9'30 in teh mroning

ths iz hows id' be typign if ididnt hav my cofee.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

30. They'll have to pry the coffee cup from my cold, dead hands.

When coffee is outlawed ...

yeah, you know the rest.

:rofl:

I work close enough to the border, I could make a morning detour to Canada on my way to work, stop in at Tim Horton's.

[closeupready]

31. Like others have said, I could live without alcohol, but not coffee.

But I would oppose bans on both equally, and strongly. There are many morality-based prohibition laws which I oppose strongly, and will say so, if the opportunity arises - the government should never ever be legislating morality just for the sake of legislating morality.

[NRaleighLiberal]

32. well, I am a good gardener, and already roast my own coffee....so there!

[rucky]

33. Vices are more fun when they go underground.

:evilgrin:

[justabob]

34. I'd be mighty pissed

This thread is interesting. I really expected a lot more strong feelings, definitely not "I don't drink so I don't care", but maybe I am missing something. It's fascinating, really. I don't care much about the cocktails bottled with caffeine and alcohol, but it seems silly to prohibit whatever Seagrams et al are bottling when any bar (or individual) with a Red Bull distributor and/or a coffee pot can make whatever you want.

Prohibition worked real well, the war on drugs is awesome, restricting sudafed has stomped out crystal meth production..... :eyes:

[NikRik]

35. What would they do at AA meeetings ?

They drink huge amounts of coffee at AA meeetings ,if they did not most may fall asleep or fall off the wagon ?

[TicketyBoo]

36. It wouldn't bother me

at all.

[MikeE]

38. Oh the Humanity

Without coffee I would probably kill everyone I came into contact with

[MercutioATC]

39. Coffee or caffeine?

I don't drink a lot of coffee right now (it's a phase thing for me...sometimes I drink a lot, sometimes not) but I still frequently feel the need for caffeine (I have a horrid work schedule).

...and banning alcohol is just bad...

[Bonobo]

40. Coffee would be a problem. A very big problem. nt

[Catshrink]

41. It's unconstitutional... our founding parents drank beer

Ben Franklin said "Beer is a sign God loves us and wants us to be happy" therefore they cannot ban beer. Franklin signed the Declaration of Independence, The Treaty of Amity and Commerce with France, The Treaty of Alliance with France, The Treaty of Peace with Great Britain, and The Constitution of the United States of America. He is the über founder and we must follow his lead on this.



As for coffee - don't even try.

[DailyGrind51]

42. Coffee actually helps prevent liver disease.

[donco6]

43. Why even propose it?

Is someone talking about it?

[justabob]

53. story within the last few days (edited)

Regarding the bottled cocktails that mix alcohol and caffinated products. The article talked about the danger of combining the two. People being able to drink more, more likely to do something stupid, being even more aggressive etc. The powers that be are talking about banning/regulating those products. From what I read, regular things like Irish coffee you order in a restaurant would not be imapacted, only the products that are manufactured/bottled for sale. I will try to find the link to be sure. I am not sure that is what this op is about, but is what I assumed prompted the question. :shrug:

on edit

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/14/health/policy/14fda.html?_r=2&ref=science

http://upload.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7016351

[donco6]

54. Thanks.

I missed that discussion earlier. I see now.

Hmmm . . . that actually puts kind of a spin on things. You can buy those Red Bull/ drinks at any bar. I suppose with the bartender there's a human evaluator to size things up to see if you can have another. But then, alcohol alone . . . without moderation is it really any worse?

All in all, it's probably kinda silly to try to prohibit them.

[justabob]

55. glad I could help

Silly indeed.

[Stumbler]

44. First off, your name is great, and so is your rum.

I'd be pissed. Not necessarily concerned about my consumption habits, but with alcohol we already learned that lesson: When you criminalize it, you take away revenue while imposing new costs on the government, you turn average citizens into "criminals," the quality and safety controls disappear, and the wealth and power of criminal organizations is increased.

Just like pot and prostitution today, they'd still be available, but riskier to obtain and consume. Complete waste of time, in my opinion.

[NC_Nurse]

45. I would think, "Great. More drugs to fight useless wars on. Brilliant."

What a boon for the privatized prison industry. :puke:

Otherwise, I could care less. I can live without them. I just don't want the host of problems that come with Prohibition redux.
I believe in decriminalization of drugs. Period. It's pointless, damaging, and creates the illusion that legal drugs are harmless. Bosh.

[pitohui]

46. you will pry my caffeine and alcohol from my cold dead hands

how do you think "others" would feel? "others" would pick up their guns and make sure that the flow of alcohol continues unabated -- we already tried it, remember?

don't try to snatch the very food and drink from my lips and then be surprised to be met with gunfire

there's a limit to what even the most peaceable citizen will tolerate -- prohibition should have settled the matter for once and for all, but the hateful puritans never give up chipping away at our rights to our own brain and body

if you are a sheep and will allow others to decide what goes in your body, be a sheep quietly, don't give the nannies any ideas

[pipi_k]

47. Wouldn't miss the alcohol, but would fight for my French Vanilla decaf n/t

[northzax]

48. well, I'd be unemployed

since I sell each of them for a living.

[Le Taz Hot]

49. Answer:

I'm menopausal and I'm armed.

[sufrommich]

50. They'll have to pry my hot coffee from my cold dead hands. nt

[Greyhound]

51. No, prohibition has never and will never work. I'd just be another outlaw. n/t

[Greybnk48]

52. I couldn't care less about alcohol, but coffee yes.

I've given up cigarettes and bread and candy. You'll get my coffee when you pry it out of my cold dead hands.

[DainBramaged]

56. What about soda........................

[Iggo]

57. Alcohol? That ship sailed 13 years ago.

Coffee? Not a big deal. Lots of other stuff has caffeine in it.

Now if they banned caffeine, that'd be different. But I've kicked before, and I can kick again. I'd be right as rain in 30 days.

[sam sarrha]

80. 11 years here...

:woohoo:

[MineralMan]

58. Don't criminalize coffee! Tax the crap out of it.

Just another bad habit. Let's slap a $5 tax on each pound and pay for something important. Say, health insurance for drug addicts. :sarcasm:

[ecstatic]

59. I don't drink coffee at all, and I rarely drink alcohol.

Alcohol makes me really sleepy. At social events, a nice low carb drink would make me happier than alcohol ever could.

Coffee smells good, but it's too much work to make (by the time you've added all the sugar and cream, you might as well be drinking kool aid--at least it wouldn't be as hot). So I wouldn't miss them at all.

[DireStrike]

61. I'd probably leave the country.

I never drink coffee and rarely drink alcohol. But any place that would make those illegal (especially coffee!) is not a place I want to live.

[amandabeech]

62. JUST GIVE ME MY COFFEE AND NO ONE WILL GET HURT!

Intentional caps. Gotta go. Need some of that magic elixir of life. NOW.

[KG]

64. not really, but i'd have to draw the line at bacon.

[X_Digger]

65. meh.. don't drink coffee, don't drink more than once a year..

So it wouldn't affect me much, but the concept of 'nanny-ing' scares me. Not to mention the whole underground that would pop up, and the concomitant 'dealers' who settle business disputes via extra-legal means. We've tried prohibition, doesn't really work.

[jmowreader]

66. There's no way they could ban coffee. The government runs on it.

There are 535 congressional offices, an office for the vice president, one for the president, one for each cabinet secretary...and every one of those offices contains a coffee pot. Ban coffee, and the government will shut down.

[Odin2005]

67. I need my coffee, DAMMIT!!!

HULK SMASH!!!

[Dorian Gray]

69. I'd be pissed

and I rarely drink either. Though I do enjoy both on a special occassion.

[Taverner]

70. I would do what I do for other things that are stupidly banned - get them anyway

Prohibition did nothing to stop the desire for alcohol

[liberal_at_heart]

72. Isn't it the combination of the two they are thinking of making illegal?

Like Irish coffee and such. If alcohol is legal and coffee is legal how do you keep people from combining them? I guess they can keep bars and coffee shops from serving it but they would never be able to stop people from doing it in their own home. People are going to use recreational substances whether they are legal or not. I don't know why they keep trying to make everything illegal. I guarantee if they made sugar illegal I would find a way to get it.

[justabob]

76. it isn't about mixed drinks in a bar or your home

or rum and coke, bourbon and coke etc would be problematic, nevermind irish coffee. What I read was about the bottled stuff, cocktails bottled for sale, specifically malt liquor mixed with energy drinks like red bull. Otherwise I agree with you.

[liberal_at_heart]

78. Oh, I guess I hadn't heard about alcohol being mixed with energy drinks

I think the thing that would worry me there would be children. This sounds like a drink that would be wildly popular with teenagers. I could see how that could be very dangerous.

[Sky Masterson]

73. A shitload!

:mad:

[HughMoran]

74. red rum

:)

[Throd]

75. I would die without beer. Die.

[lillypaddle]

77. take my tequila,

at your own risk! I'm warning you ...

[sam sarrha]

79. dont use alcohol, mostly drink tea and Mate.. but it would destroy the poor in central america, etc

[Prophet 451]

81. I'd be furious

I don't much care about the alcohol, I only have a pint of real ale maybe once a month, enjoy it and think no more of it. But caffeine is as central to my life as oxygen.

[struggle4progress]

82. Ain't nobody wanna see me widdout me coffee. And I mean, nobody

:grr:

[BR_Parkway]

83. As a wine shop owner, I'd be looking for a new line of work

I'd probably build a still!

[Swamp Rat]

85. Armed rebellion.

:patriot:

:hangover:

[Luciferous]

86. I don't drink either, so I wouldn't really care

I do use wine for cooking but that's about it.

[Political Heretic]

87. I would get excited because I don't think increased substance restriction is the way to go.

[RedCappedBandit]

88. My DOC is already illegal. nt

[Veruca Salt]

89. Give me coffee or give me death!

:donut:

[Quantess]

90. I would consider a lucrative new career in illegal alcohol and coffee trafficking.

[reggie the dog]

91. I would move back to the US

and make a fourtune selling coffee and alcohol. Most people want these products, incuding cops, fortunes could be made.

[bamacrat]

93. I dont drink coffee but I love beer, whiskey and tequila.

But if it were a choice of banning anything that was addictive to more than 50% of those who use it then we could get weed legalized so...

[Withywindle]

94. Oh HELL no.

I would care. A LOT.

Prohibition never did anybody any good, except gangsters.

I saw that thread about the alcohol/caffeine drinks. I think that stuff should be banned for tasting so nasty. I had Sparks once. It tastes like an orange popsicle dipped in the piss of a diabetic camel. :puke: