Prohibition in Oregon was Welcomed at First, then Rejected

Prohibition Welcomed

Prohibition in Oregon was welcomed. The state had eagerly ratified the 18th Amendment. That amendment created National Prohibition in 1920. Temperance beliefs were strong in Oregon. Voters had approved state-wide prohibition five years earlier.

Residents widely thought prohibition would improve health. Increase safety. And reduce crime. That it would lower violence. Improve public morality. And protect young people.

Selling alcoholic beverages was outlawed. But the demand for them wasn’t. Moonshining and bootlegging became highly profitable. Cities along the Pacific coast tended to become bootlegging centers.

Problems

Illegal producers and sellers paid bribes to police, sheriffs, and various others. It was a cost of doing business.

Widespread corruption reduced respect for Prohibition. And for law in general. Alcohol had also become a highly-desired “forbidden fruit.” For the first time, drinking became popular among women and young people.

Prohibition also promoted an undesirable new drinking pattern. That’s drinking less often but very heavily. People didn’t go to a speakeasy to leisurely sip their drinks. They went to to guzzle them quickly while they could.

Dangerous Bootleg

And the beverages could be dangerous to life and health. Moonshiners made their products quickly. So they sometimes had lead toxins. Moonshiners often added creosote for color. Customers sometimes had paralysis, blindness or even painful death.

Violence

That wasn’t the only danger. There was violence between competing gangsters. That sometimes led to the injury or death of innocent people.

Prohibition in Oregon wasn’t improving health but threatening it. It wasn’t increasing safety but reducing it. The law wasn’t lowering violence but increasing it. It wasn’t improving public morality but destroying it. It wasn’t protecting young people but endangering them.

Repeal

Prohibition was clearly counter-productive. Voters called for its end. The overall crime rate in the state dropped sharply after Repeal. The murder rate dropped for 10 consecutive years.