...and the land of the freeeeeeeeee." - Not.

What a strange thing for the Texas Alcohol Commission to do. It's completely unenforcable to any real extent, so they must be caving to some special interest for whatever reasons they may have, or the commissioner is attempting to garner political clout for eventually obtaining some higher office.

I'd like to see them set up check points for people leaving country music festivals or concerts, and actually arrest all the drunks. How about those rodeos they have down there, or any sporting event? Hell, just go into a decent sized urban nightclub around closing time, try pulling all the people who are drunk, you would either need the national guard on hand, or be prepared for a riot. Weekend nights on any college campus, pretty much anywhere on St. Patricks day, 4th of July, on and on and on. . .

Ridiculous.

Inhouston, the whole point was, how is someone who is drunk in a bar a danger to himself or to others, when the whole point of having bars is to have a safe, legal place to get intoxicated? If the police were to set up outside a bar and arrest them as they fumbled for their car key, or stumbled off the sidewalk, that would be one thing. If the management called the police because they were a disturbance in the bar, that would be another thing. But they are arresting them in the bar, before they do anything other than become intoxicated. Thats a very different and wrong thing, entirely. Someone should have to do some overtly criminal act and being arrested should not be subject to the whim or arbitrary caprice of the officer.

FK

What about the dangers of second hand liquor? You could be in, I don't know, a karaoke bar. Hey! It happens. And maybe you're belting out some long note and some guy accidentally spills his drink in your mouth.

Or some girl mistakenly splashes your face with her drink (never happened to me). That's gotta sting the old peepers.

What if you're allergic to alcohol and the only reason you went into the bar (not in California) is so you could smoke? Some guy accdentally dumps 3 fingers of single malt into your coke and the next thing you know...

OK. These are all stupid in order to point out that the law is stupid. Isn't Texas the only state that still allows open containers in cars? I lived in NC when they outlawed that in 2001.

Still, it could be worse. No Smoking in Calabassas, CA if you're within 20 ft of a public space. You want to suck on a fag out on your balcony (that's Brittish slang, btw) and you happen to have an apartment that overlooks the pool or common area - not gonna happen.

How long before the Mormons outlaw drinking in Salt Lake? When will Marijuana become illegal? What? It already is? Why is that? Are they afraid people will smoke and drive and accidentally miss their exits on the freeway? Are they afraid pot heads will cause the traffic to go slower? In L.A. - I don't think that's possible. Yeah.. could someone actually explain why marijuana is illegal and alcohol isn't? I mean, I can see Crystal Meth being illegal - those guys are just nuts on that stuff. And Heroin - just watch trainspotting or that movie about the sex pistols. I've seen some nut jobs on coke, too. And Alcohol. Oh wait. There goes that line of thinking.

How about this. You can [drink smoke ingest consume partake] at home or a licensed [bar club establishment] or your friend's [ house apartment tent cardboard box steam grate overpriced-condo], but you can't leave those places until you can pass a substance test, or you are in the custody of a licensed sobrietor. I just made that up. A licensed sobrietor is someone who is always sober (like a permanently designated driver) and can see you safely from one location to another, securing you at the destination if necessary or staying on to watch you. These guys are going to be a little pricey, but if you can afford an 8-ball, you can afford a sobrietor.

Should you leave your intoxicarium without a sobrietor or without passing a substance test, you will face penalties like jail and hefty fines. The owner of the intoxicarium will similarly face penalties. The other guests at a non-licensed intoxicarium (your friend's party) are also susceptable to penalties. Now it becomes everybody's problem.

Hey - I'm not saying this is a solution, the solution, or even a good idea. I am saying the current situation isn't working. Big announcement yesterday on the War on Drugs. They identified 50 columbian narco-trafficer type people and arrested three of them. When was the last announcement? How's that war coming? How much have we spent? How much have we stopped? How close are we to being done? Have we really made a difference at all?

Don't go all nuts on me. My ideas on just about any political issue will probably give you pause. Might even lead to some real solutions.

The problem is not prohibition of alcohol or prevention of car accident. Alcohol is a drug, like cannabis, heroin, LSD, crack, ecstasy…. Some countries have prohibited the use of some of them and some others have chosen some others to be restricted.
The problem can be stated in this way: is human being able to live without any “drug” or, in a reverse way, do you accept all your life without “drug” and their ability to change your perception of the world. From historical standpoint, it has never been observed (when posting, I’m unable to remember the, how far I can remember, mushroom of the Indian-Europeans, "soma" or something like that). Human being seems to have a need for something “unreal” and cannot accept the crude reality, as is. They apparently need for an escape.
Note that animals are not different from human. Once they have tasted such product, they are addicted. It should point out that’s a universal need for a given level of consciousness.
What we all would like is to take benefit of these products without suffering the consequences on health and sanity. It’s not possible. So, do we accept that, in benefit of our hypothetic future mental and corporal health, any possibility is denied to all the good sensation that we need instantaneously, while aware or their consequences. Is it really a question for politicians and not for yourself? What politicians, police and others administrative officers have to do with your decision on your life?
I’m also quite well aware about the physiologist aspects of addiction and that the recuring question of protecting people from themselfes arises soon after. But I think it’s only a secondary point, the first point being our desire for another reality, what could be its form, alcohol fog ,just being able to sleep tonight, or hallucinogen dream. You can recuperate from one addiction, but dive in another one, obsession for sanity being one of the possibility, since, I told before, it doesn’t exist to be free from such tendencies, except in mental disorder.

I don't really understand it, since i live in Europe, but some ppl try to say that it is ok to arrest someone for the potentiality of being involved in crime while he is 'intoxicated'?

The 'Thought Police' was mentioned in Orwel's 1984, and everybody hoped it was just fiction.
Unfortunately not...

So what is the future in the states?

Getting arrested because u have an IQ of 155 which makes you a potential crime mind?
Getting arrested because you are very handsome which makes you a potential danger to teenage virgins?
Getting arrested because you THOUGHT of doing something?

Ok, what the hell....Ban alcohol, ban cigaretes, ban sex, ban alternative lifestyles....

And since some US citizens tolerate with this kind of facism, it is very OK with me.
Luckily, for the rest of us, there are many countries that are still democratic.

We're still, at least in theory, a democratic republic, or whatever we've morphed into.

The problem is the majority of people who vote are pretty dumb, at least lately.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hondarobot

We're still, at least in theory, a democratic republic, or whatever we've morphed into.

The problem is the majority of people who vote are pretty dumb, at least lately.

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Yea, you really think that the smart people actually voted for Dubya? I didn't :P Democracy works only with a majority agrees on something....I doubt Billybob and Jethro are of the majority :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hondarobot

We're still, at least in theory, a democratic republic, or whatever we've morphed into.

The problem is the majority of people who vote are pretty dumb, at least lately.

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That is a problem in every country, believe me....

On the same note let's not forget our old friend the Patriot Act.

On the same note let's not forget our old friend the Patriot Act.