General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why do men support legalizing pot, while women oppose it? [View all]Moonwalk
(2,322 posts)At the time of prohibition, men were, of course, the bread-winners of the family and women and children almost totally reliant on them. Even if the wife worked, laws and customs gave the man the right to the household money. So the women could only buy groceries for the kids if dad handed her the money.
Beer makers, at this time, set up bars right next to factories and such, and made them men's clubs--like a sport's bar. Cheap food, male company--like saloons of old they provided games, entertainment, etc. So the hard working guys get their paycheck, walks right into the bar, spends it all on booze, and there's none for the wife and kids--these are poor people, no social safety nets. So no money for food, clothes, rent. And in addition, dad comes home drunk. And, of course, many of these men, when drunk, beat their wives and kids and there were no laws against this. It was considered a private matter between a husband and wife.
With little understanding about addiction and alcoholism, the only option the women saw to save themselves and their kids was to try get rid of these bars and the liquor they sold and, thus, they hoped, dry out the husbands or at least keep the husband's pay from being spent on liquor. Check out Ken Burn's documentary on prohibition. The reason why women were so all-fire in favor of it were very understandable.
Marijuana is hardly the same. It is illegal and the question is to make it legal, not vice versa. And what happened with prohibition is a good way to show how the product could actually be better if legalized (taxed, regulated) than if kept as an illegal, black market item. I see no reason why women wouldn't be as much in favor of it as men outside of the fact that smoking pot together is a very "guy" thing.