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Prohibition in the United States (view source)
Revision as of 23:44, May 24, 2016
, 23:44, May 24, 2016Poisoned Alcohol
The government continued to expect cooperation with the authorities to the end, and issued two scathing reports calling for tougher enforcement in 1927<ref name=rep27>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1a.html History of Prohibition Enforcement before the Bureau of Prohibition Act of 1927] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref> and 1931.<ref name=rep31>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1.html Report on the Enforcement of Prohibition Laws in the United States, January 7, 1931] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref>
The government continued to expect cooperation with the authorities to the end, and issued two scathing reports calling for tougher enforcement in 1927<ref name=rep27>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1a.html History of Prohibition Enforcement before the Bureau of Prohibition Act of 1927] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref> and 1931.<ref name=rep31>[http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/library/studies/wick/wick1.html Report on the Enforcement of Prohibition Laws in the United States, January 7, 1931] at the Schaffer Library of Drug Policy</ref>
==== Poisoned Alcohol ====
With retail alcohol being prohibited, the government moved to prevent people from drinking alcohol intended for industrial use. Wood Alcohol, also known as methanol or 'denatured' alcohol, was still available.<ref name=deadly>[http://time.com/3665643/deadly-drinking/ The History of Poisoned Alcohol Includes an Unlikely Culprit: The U.S. Government]</ref> Despite government action, distillers would attempt to remove the contaminant to make industrial alcohol drinkable, which very often did not work.<ref name=deadly /> Drinking denatured alcohol may cause violent illness, blindness, or death.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=licDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA18 The Truth about Poison Liquor], Popular Science, April 1927</ref>
[[Wayne Wheeler]], an activist for "dry" causes, supported the measure. He said: "The Government is under no obligation to furnish the people with alcohol that is drinkable when the Constitution prohibits it", and "The person who drinks this industrial alcohol is a deliberate suicide... To root out a bad habit costs many lives and long years of effort..."<ref name=deadly />
As a result of instituting prohibition, the poisoning of alcohol and the deaths it caused is one of the uglier chapters of the early [[Progressive Era]]. It is believed that more than 10,000 people died before the 18th amendment was repealed.<ref>[http://www.history.com/news/10-things-you-should-know-about-prohibition 10 Things You Should Know About Prohibition]</ref>
=== Crime and repeal ===
=== Crime and repeal ===