The 18th Amendment (Prohibition) Revisited

In 1919 the Constitution of the United States was changed, amended, to make the consumption and possession of alcoholic beverages illegal. Now take a moment to consider this. It is a monumental task to change the Constitution, requiring 2/3 of the Senate and House to pass it and then 3/4 of States must approve it, in 7 years or less! Then, in 1933 the Constitution was changed again to nullify the previous change and make consumption of alcohol legal again! Somehow the “problem” of alcoholism (addiction) that was so vexing it brought the nation to this monumental change evaporated in a little over 13 years! Unfortunately, the truth is addiction, in all its guises, is today destroying more lives than ever before, past and current efforts and laws notwithstanding.

Man’s attempts to amend destructive behaviors in sweeping societal fashion have consistently failed, routinely resulting in unintended negative, often grave consequences. Many are suffering today, unable to address their crippling pain adequately due to the abuse of prescription medication by the few. And just as Prohibition failed due to its ham-fisted approach, the current approaches to addiction are still rooted in one size fits all thinking, across the board, different paths often at war with one another! More interested in protecting their “turf” at the expense of those suffering. Recovery from addiction is not one size fits all and we must begin approaching it in a systematic fashion, from detox to providing long term assistance and support to deal with the daily ups and downs of living that so often lead to relapse. Would a physician ignore a systemic infection if they were treating a patient with a broken bone? Addiction is a scourge, destroying not only the suffers life but affecting all who care for them, draining them emotionally, while the cost to society from all aspects of addiction runs into the hundreds of billions every year just in America. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. To truly address addiction we must abandon the 19^th century modes of thinking that lead to the 18^th Amendment and step into 21^st century. Together.

Miracles Of Recovery

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