I watched a history on cocaine recently and it's interesting to see how it got started.  It began as a “miracle drug” which was added to a lot of different products.  Only after some time did it dawn on people that it was addictive and led to destructive behavior.  I think that this is the kind of sentiment that alcohol had as well.  If I recall correctly cocaine was restricted by states and only later by the federal government, perhaps in the 1920s (but maybe earlier).  This would coincide with the timing of the 18th Amendment.  I don't know why something like alcohol would be de-criminalized but drugs would not be, other than if they realized that alcohol wasn't as addictive and it could still be enjoyed in moderation.  It would be interesting to see the correlation in governmental timing in its response to both alcohol and cocaine (and other drugs).

Interesting post, Donnie.  It seems that many colleges direct toward wage earning and directly applied academics rather than the liberal arts of ages past.  In essence this drift has turned our nation and perhaps other nations into people who are “dumber” when it comes to rational thought even though they may be well trained to carry on their profession.  I say this because a good liberal arts education teaches from the universal traits of mankind that have been ascertained throughout time.  A liberal arts education takes from the lessons about Achilles, Plutarch, St. Augustine, Descartes, and Adam Smith; your typical contemporary education takes from texts explaining modern theory and application in engineering, marketing, or the array of sciences.This modern form of education is geared toward responding to market needs, so I suppose this trend is to be expected.  Schools have discovered that when the market demands certain kinds of workers they can supply them and become successful at creating these workers.  I don't see anything wrong with this on a personal level, but on a broad level I think it can be dangerous.  When citizens are not educated with the classical teachings that past civilizations have handed down they do not know how to think.  They adopt a plethora of views, perhaps even those which are contrary to the nature of our democracy.  They have a skewed view of what "rights" are and they come to think that principles of political correctness are our greatest ideals.  I think that over time such kinds of citizens would cause a nation to implode.