The End of Prohibition: Why gay marriage, using pot, and going to Cuba will soon be legal

[Better Believe It]

The End of Prohibition
Why gay marriage, getting high, and going to Cuba will soon be legal.
By Jacob Weisberg
October 31, 2009

"I think this would be a good time for a beer," Franklin D. Roosevelt said upon signing a bill that made 3.2-percent lager legal again, some months ahead of the full repeal of Prohibition. I hope Barack Obama will come up with some comparably witty remarks as he presides over the dismantling of our contemporary forms of prohibition—laws that prevent gay marriage, restrict cannabis as a Schedule I Controlled Substance, and ban travel to Cuba. "You may now kiss the groom," perhaps, or—a version of the comment he once made about smoking pot—"I inhaled—that was the point."

Our forms of prohibition are more sins of omission than commission. Rather than trying to take away longstanding rights, they're instances of conservative laws failing to keep pace with a liberalizing society. But like Prohibition in the '20s, these restrictions have become indefensible as well as impractical, and as a result are fading fast. Within 10 years, it seems a reasonable guess that Americans will travel freely to Cuba, that all states will recognize gay unions, and that few will retain criminal penalties for marijuana use by individuals. Whether or not Democrats retain control of Congress, whether or not Obama is re-elected, and whether they happen sooner or later than expected, these reforms are inevitable—not because politics has changed but because society has.

A few reference points: In April, Obama lifted restrictions on travel and remittances by Cuban-Americans. Last month, the Justice Department announced that it would no longer prosecute cases involving medical marijuana in the 14 states where it is now permitted. Same-sex marriages are recognized in six states and counting. In a larger frame, loosening restrictions and lax enforcement reflect evolving social norms. Since Bush left office, American tourists no longer worry about being prosecuted for visiting Havana without a Treasury license. Gay unions have been celebrated on the New York Times "Weddings" page since 2002. And have you been to Los Angeles recently? You need only tell an on-site doctor at a cheerful, walk-in pot emporium that you've been suffering from anxiety to walk out with a perfectly legal bag of Captain Kush.

The chief reason these prohibitions are falling away is the evolving definition of the pursuit of happiness. What's driving the legalization of gay marriage is not so much the moral argument but the pressures from couples who want to sanctify their relationships, obtain legal benefits, and raise children in a stable environment. What's advancing the decriminalization of marijuana is not just the demand for pot as medicine but the number of adults—more than 23 million in the past year, according to the most recent government survey—who use it and don't believe they should face legal jeopardy. What's bringing the change on Cuba is not just the epic failure of the 48-year-old U.S. embargo, but the demand on the part of Americans who want to go there—whether to visit their relatives, prospect for post-Castro business opportunities, or sip rum drinks at the beach.

Read the full article at:

http://www.slate.com/id/2234017/?gt1=38001

I hope he's right but not so sure it will come so easily or that it's inevitable.

[tekisui]

1. It won't be easy, but I think it is inevitable.

Because we have reached a critical mass of accepting, non-bigoted people. It may take another 10 years(or so) for all of those changes to be fully in place, but it will happen as the older more bigoted generation dies out.

[XemaSab]

2. I don't want to go to Cuba to sip rum drinks on the beach

I want to go and see some epic endemic birds. :D

[Better Believe It]

3. I want to watch the birds and other native species on the beach!

Am I bad?

:)

[XemaSab]

5. Drinking and birding is a time-honored tradition

:D

[Not Me]

4. One of my biggest regrets is turning down the opportunity to go to Cuba

as part of an educational group in 1998. Would have been three weeks in Havana, and two more in the country. At the time, I couldn't afford it.

[targetpractice]

6. Look at this graph of "Support for Same Sex Marriage by Age and State"...

Support for gay marriage is increasing dramatically among younger people... indicating that widespread acceptance is simply a matter of time.



http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/11/05/support-for-same-sex-marriage-by-age-and-state/

[Salviati]

7. Just goes to show what I tell people...

The ultimate solution to bigotry is the grave. There are some people who's minds will just not change, and eventually they will die.

(Although usually it's said in the context of scientific theories... the diehard proponents of a discredited theory may never change, but they will die.)

[Berry Cool]

9. That's right--and it doesn't matter how many "quiversful" of kids the bigots have, either.

Being raised as bigots is something many kids rebel against the second they're older.

Never underestimate the power of strict parents to inadvertently turn their kids into the exact opposite of themselves.

[Vidar]

15. You've read Thomas Kuhn. I agree.

[CTLawGuy]

17. I'll bookmark this for the next

time the apologists for the South come out.

[Odin2005]

21. Great graph!

Looks like Same-Sex Marriage would be legal if it were up to us 20-somethings! :D

[DebbieCDC]

8. I'd LOVE to go to Cuba

and I have many gay friends I'd LOVE to see get married (if they want to) and I used to inhale a LOT so ... :evilgrin:

[mkultra]

10. heres hoping.

Good luck to us all.

[ensho]

18. kick

nt

[FirstLight]

11. right on...

With recent elections and the constant posturing on the MSM, one can forget how LIBERAL we are becoming as a people...and the graph above showing the breakdown by age would go for most issues we are pushing now...

Give the Gen X'ers a few more years to come into power (Obama is on the leading edge of that group..)
and we could be really pleased with the progressive state we have created! :thumbsup:

It would be so nice...CAN we get there?

[bigwillq]

12. A boy can dream!

:)

[RepublicanElephant]

13. i want to go to cuba for real universal, non-profit healthcare. nt

[Blue_Tires]

14. i hope to see normalized trade relations sooner rather than later

[divineorder]

16. A lot of things are colliding to make this possible

1) The end of the generation that really wanted to make everybody conform. The "Mad Men" generation put a whole list of rules in place to make sure everybody "knew their place". Later generations aren't so stressed in that regard-feeling that people should be able to do things their own way as long as those ways don't harm anybody else.

2) Economics. Prohibition costs money we no longer have for results we no longer can justify. Instead pot can be a source of revenue. Gay couples and the weddings they have can be a source of revenue as well-besides what would it cost to issue a few more marriage licenses anyway? Going to Cuba might add a few dollars to an ailing tourist industry that needs it-indeed, the moment anyone from the States can go to Cuba without license or apology, there will be a rush of a half-century as thousands,
maybe even millions (I'm thinking day trip here)go on trips that they never could before.

And the other side of the ledger? Legal pot-billions saved by not prosecuting the drug war anymore. The end of drug gangs and their ability to recruit the young and vulnerable. More gay families and the stability a true family life can bring. We can demilitarize the area around Cuba-and improve our relationships with nations in South America because we are no longer fighting this last vestige of the Cold War.

[Blue_Tires]

19. excellent points

[Odin2005]

20. YAY!

:party:

[JNelson6563]

22. Too late to rec.

:kick:

[vaberella]

23. I'll rec this and kick b/c I think it's true and it's a surprise coming from you. However...

the last line is you keeping it real.

[CTyankee]

24. AND here we go BACKWARDS toward "prohibition" on abortion!

Awkwardly ironic isn't it?