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The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

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Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#11

Post by mamon »

greenyoda wrote: post #2

Denatured alcohol (e.g., ethanol with added methanol to render it undrinkable) is still used today for industrial purposes since it's much cheaper than pure ethanol, which is heavily taxed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol

And yet some people (mostly homeless and addicts) find a way to drink it anyway, with such strange methods like filtering through bread crusts.

I totally don't understand why article tries to blame government for all those deaths when it was clearly mob trying to make money.

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#12

Post by tammer »

nxc18 wrote: post #7

Although this had unfortunate consequences, and would be unthinkable in today's enlightened world, I'm not sure the line of reasoning here was unreasonable. The idea that manufacturers would be allowed to produce vast quantities of a partially illegal substance, without putting in efforts to prevent illegal use, seems unreasonable. Imagine the outcry if it turned out Phizer was manufacturing all the heroin. (They and…

Are you so certain our model of human behavior has gotten better? We face a similar, although less direct, problem with drug prohibition today: due to following outright prohibition over regulation, innumerable people are affected by tainted, low quality or overly potent drugs who instead could have been helped by harm reduction programs and regulated substances.

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#16

Post by tomohawk »

Not sure what the answer is, but alcohol is involved in around 88,000 deaths in the US each year.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/overview-alcohol-co...

Despite what the popular press says, Prohibition had some beneficial effects, and not all of the negative effects attributed to Prohibition actually arose out of Prohibition.

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/16/opinion/actually-prohibiti...

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#17

Post by wildmusings »

lenzm wrote: post #9
nxc18 wrote: post #7

Although this had unfortunate consequences, and would be unthinkable in today's enlightened world, I'm not sure the line of reasoning here was unreasonable. The idea that manufacturers would be allowed to produce vast quantities of a partially illegal substance, without putting in efforts to prevent illegal use, seems unreasonable. Imagine the outcry if it turned out Phizer was manufacturing all the heroin. (They and…

It is still done today. Prescription opiods are loaded with acetaminophen that will make you far sicker sooner than the opiods will.

And the recent widespread availability of Oxy, which doesn't have acetaminophen (i.e. tylenol), is thought to be responsible for the current opiate epidemic.

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#18

Post by wildmusings »

taneq wrote: post #5

Just like there are regularly reported "MDMA deaths" in the mainstream media despite MDMA never having been reasonably blamed for any death (beyond crazy "took 50x recommended dosage" or disingenuous "took something they thought was MDMA but was actually ketamine" cases).

>despite MDMA never having been reasonably blamed for any death

You're just plain wrong here. Ecstasy is a dangerous drug that can cause overheating, dehydration, and other very serious conditions that can and do result in death. Further, the drug's effects discourage the behaviors, like eating and drinking water in reasonable quantities, that are essential to preventing those conditions. With their sense of hunger and thirst totally haywire, some people try to overcompensate and end up dying from too much water.

And as for the long-term effects of regular MDMA use: persistent brain damage and loss of cognitive function.

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#19

Post by wildmusings »

nxc18 wrote: post #7

Although this had unfortunate consequences, and would be unthinkable in today's enlightened world, I'm not sure the line of reasoning here was unreasonable. The idea that manufacturers would be allowed to produce vast quantities of a partially illegal substance, without putting in efforts to prevent illegal use, seems unreasonable. Imagine the outcry if it turned out Phizer was manufacturing all the heroin. (They and…

We still do this. Don't drink a bottle of rubbing ethanol (not taxed as drinking alcohol) or you will get extremely sick: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubbing_alcohol#US_legislation

Re: The US government poisoned alcohol during Prohibition (2010)

#20

Post by jeremyjh »

wildmusings wrote: post #18
taneq wrote: post #5

Just like there are regularly reported "MDMA deaths" in the mainstream media despite MDMA never having been reasonably blamed for any death (beyond crazy "took 50x recommended dosage" or disingenuous "took something they thought was MDMA but was actually ketamine" cases).

> despite MDMA never having been reasonably blamed for any death You're just plain wrong here. Ecstasy is a dangerous drug that can cause overheating, dehydration, and other very serious conditions that can and do result in death. Further, the drug's effects discourage the behaviors, like eating and drinking water in reasonable quantities, that are essential to preventing those conditions. With their sense of hunger…

>drinking too much water and dying

Citation needed.

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