Why was Prohibition repealed?

Basically, Prohibition was a complete failure, as far as legislative and social policy was concerned.  It didn't actually do much to stem the production, transportation, or consumption of alcohol - in fact, by making it "taboo" it likely increased all of those things to some degree in some classes of society.  It created an environment for gangsters and other illegal groups to secure a foothold in society and gain prominence as black market suppliers.

Additionally, Prohibition had huge actual costs to the criminal justice system, similar to what we see nowadays with regard to marijuana prosecutions and the "war on drugs" - there were a ton of cases that were pushed into the police, prosecutors, and courts that were of dubious actual harm to the people involved.

Eventually, the political winds shifted, and the Amendment was proposed - the first and only Amendment to repeal a prior Amendment.

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Cliff Gilley on Quora:

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