Notes from Dick Evans' presentation UMass CRC meeting 2/28/11

dupont is gm and other snippets of a great lesson in history and civics

Dick Evans gave a great talk tonight at the UMass CRC meeting about Prohibition and prohibition repeal in America. I love linguistics, and enjoyed the distinctions of punctuation with which Dick Evans opened his discussion of Prohibition, the historical period which began in 1920 and ended 13 years later, and prohibition, the policy. For those of us engaged in the current movement to repeal the prohibition of marijuana in Massachusetts, the lessons of the American experiment in alcohol prohibition, and especially in the under-reported story of how that prohibition got repealed can be quite instructive. Evans' lesson tonight gave us food for thought, much encouragement, and a framework upon which we may ensure a successful repetition of history, all for the good.

Here are some of the notes I took mentally as I listened to the presentation, wishing I'd brought my video camera. it has a better memory than I do but this is the best I can muster tonight:


rhetoric is not to be confused with verbosity
rhetoric is not propaganda

it is the studied use of language

medical-recreational not dichotomous issues there's a trilogy or perhaps further ways to use... expansively, as writers, musicians and artists' use to enhance creative process, or laborers who use it to get through tedious days of hard work .. sacramental use of course should be constitutionally protected?

the issue is not the substance, the issue is prohibition. should it be constitutionally banned? which side are you on?

identifying the polarity:wet vs dry was prohibition era divide, with some candidates dubbed amphibian or moist, damp, when wishy washy or in both camps. a paradigm for now? tolerant vs intolerant... hip vs square? redbud vs ragweed says n harsh vs mellow says i bumper sticker mentality? can it work? we ought to be softer on drugs *and* harder on crime

right to tax

stop arresting people

stop targeting people of color?

the law was originally based on racist discrimination and perpetrates racial targeting to this day

stress the futility

cession-- a state may cede enforcement to another sovereign entity (federal enforcement)

another way to repeal prohibition, constitutional amendment by state's votes, tried and true in the 1930's .in article V of the constitution it turns out that we the voters can pass a constitutional amendment by having constitutional conventions in 3/4 of the states, wherein all delegates get elected by voters in the state, and the voters can know which side of the new amendment each delegate will fall; so the voter wills elect a majority of either sensi or schwag delegates to the convention, thereby ensuring direct democratic representation

pauline sabin in pearls and the women's suffrage movement, new wave of activism building on the studied usage of the meaning of the word temperance, which suggests not prohibition, which creates a papradigm of rampant crime and other social issues, a model of greater tolerance for moderate appropriate use... after earlier suffragette temperance activism, carrie nation with a hatchet, etc extoll temperance

other factors that favored the repeal of the Big P were economic, the Great Depression, the need for new industry and revenue

it's a paragraph:

whether you like it or not m is part of our culture which no amount of money or enforcement will make go away

stop arresting people it's futile!

tax, regulate, DARE to teach accurate history, politics and science based information re marijuana vs BS scare tactic curricula, sends a message to youth, they deserve the truth

After current drug czar claims legalization is not in Obama's vocabulary, LEAP officer asks YouTube q and, "Legalization is on the table" says pres. O

time for a debate