by marijuanaadvocates who I’m sure left out some information such as the fact that marijuana causes areduction in testosterone production in men and also may contribute to sexual disfunction inmen. But these are all very valid points that certainly ought to be taken into consideration whendebating over whether or not marijuana should be legalized.Alcohol Synopsis:Alcoholic beverages were first consumed by prehistoric peoples as a result of naturalfermentation -- of honey, fruit, or grain. For thousands of years, fermented juices were commonlyused for rituals, celebrations, and dining; in the civilizations of the Mediterranean (Near East,Egypt Ancient Greece, and Rome) and in China, both wines and beers were produced in quantityfor special occasions. Once the process of distillation was developed -- about 800 AD by Jabiribn Hayyan -- alcoholic beverages with a higher ethanol content were made, distilled off thefermented wines and beers that already existed. Eventually, special fermented mashes were madefrom local produce that, with multiple distilling and careful filtration, yielded high ethanol (highproof) concentrations. By the 1700s, whisky (today whiskey) from Scotland and Ireland weresold by the expanding British Empire; and American bourbon was being manufactured inKentucky. Today’s liquor industry is based on carefully controlled and often blended products,which are sold to consumers with the stamp of “tradition” attached to each variation. Of themany types of alcohols, ethanol is the most intoxicating, the least toxic, and therefore, the mostcommercially exploited. It is the world’s most widely used and abused psychoactive drug.Because of its unique acceptance amongst drugs, alcohol has not been much of a legally debatedtopic in America with the exception of during Prohibition. The two most strictly enforced lawsrelating to alcohol are underage drinking and driving under its influence. Unlike many E...
