"Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man's appetite by legislation, and makes a crime out of things that are not crimes. A Prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded." Abraham Lincoln (1809-65), U.S. President. Speech, 18 Dec. 1840, to Illinois House of Representatives
"The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by the prohibition law. For nothing is more destructive of respect for the government and the law of the land than passing laws which cannot be enforced. It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this country is closely connected with this." Albert Einstein, "My First Impression of the U.S.A.", 1921
"Mistrust those in whom the urge to punish is strong." Friedrich Nietzsche "Make the most of the Indian hemp seed, and sow it everywhere!" George Washington "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." Upton Sinclair "I'd always done a lot of (sniffing) glue as a kid. I was very interested in glue, and then I went to lager and speed, and I drifted into heroin because as a kid growing up everybody told me, ‘don't smoke marijuana, it will kill you' ..." Irvine Walsh "First they ignore you; then they mock you; then they punish you; then you win." Mahatma Ghandi