Heard on the Hill: Alcohol Livens Up the Joint?

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Raise a glass to this — it’s been 75 years since prohibition was officially repealed!

In recognition, Members of the House — a bunch not exactly known for being teetotalers — passed legislation last week recognizing state regulators and industry leaders for enacting an effective system of regulating, distributing and selling alcohol.

And the measure is giving the folks who lobby for one green, leafy substance hope that their dreams of legalization will soon be realized.

Introduced by Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.), the resolution praises the repeal of Prohibition, noting that the time of no alcohol "resulted in a dramatic increase in illegal activity, including unsafe black market alcohol production, organized crime, and noncompliance with alcohol laws."

The enactment of the 21st Amendment led to the "development of a transparent and accountable system of distribution and sales" and helped generate "billions of dollars in Federal and Sales tax revenues and additional billions to the economy annually," the legislation reads.

According to the folks over at the Marijuana Policy Project, that language sounds pretty familiar.

"The same argument applies to both marijuana and alcohol," said Aaron Houston, MPP’s director of government relations. "We are stunned that the Congress was so publicly praising the system of regulation while we haven’t seen movement on a medical marijuana measure."

But Houston also thinks the bill is a sign that Congress is at a tipping point when it comes to marijuana. Members will soon realize it is better to regulate marijuana than ban it outright, Houston said, adding that many already believe pot should be legal but are afraid to admit it.

And Houston promised to contact Coble to join the legalization effort. Coble spokesman Ed McDonald declined to comment on the marijuana policy debate, telling HOH he’d would leave that up to the folks at MPP.

The purpose of the bill, McDonald said, merely was to honor alcohol wholesalers and government regulators for their efforts.

"It’s a system that works," he said.




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