Why were the 18th and 21st amendments passed, as what was their impact on society?

Montana

I think it somewhat demonstrated that people don't learn from history. They are doomed to repeat the mistakes. Consensual activity should not be illegal. Making this activity illegal results in crime and violence. You are simply manufacturing criminals. Resolution of disputes with illegal activity results in violence. You can't resolve any disputes through the same channels as legal occupations. Selling drugs is not a violent activity in-and-of-itself. The violence aspect is created because we make it illegal. Think about selling alcohol at a liquor store. It is a consensual activity between a consenting buyer and a consenting merchant. The transaction is consensual. It is really no different than something like weed, except it is legal. Alcohol was illegal for a time in America. The act of Prohibition created a lot of violence, especially murder. That violence occurred because there were no legal channels or proper social channels to resolve conflicts, disputes, or disagreements. This violence markedly dropped when Prohibition was repealed. Alcohol itself was not associated with violence. Prescription drugs are not associated with violence. Drugs made illegal are associated with violence ONLY because they are made illegal.

Anonymous

The Prohibition era (1920-1933) was marked by the banning of alcoholic beverages, which was codified into the laws through the passing of the 18th Amendment. (18th Amendment is basically the prohibition making and selling of alcoholic beverage.) What happened after passing the 18th Amendment? Crimes went up. People started illegally making alcohol. There were people known as bootleggers, who make and sell alcohol illegally. They make alcohol at home, usually on their bathtub. Moonshine became a big thing at the time since many alcoholic beverages were not properly distilled causing the illegal alcohol to not have been properly purified from toxic substances and cause blindness. There were places known as a speakeasy, where people secretly drink alcohol. There were gangs and mafia secretly selling and transporting this alcoholic beverage and are making money out of it. From all these craziness, the most logical thing to do would be to stop banning alcohol, so the 21st amendment was passed.