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First Things First

In 1908, Prohibition was about a lot more than Alcohol

1908 Prohibition Party Platform

 The Prohibition Party of the United States, assembled in convention at Columbus, Ohio, July 15-16, 1908, expressing gratitude to Almighty God for the victories of our principles in the past, for encouragement at present, and for confidence in early and triumphant success in the future, makes the following declaration of principles, and pledges their enactment into law when placed in power:

  1. The submission by Congress to the several States, of an amendment to the Federal constitution prohibiting the manufacture, sale, importation, exportation, or transportation of alcoholic liquors for beverage purpose.

 2. The immediate prohibition of the liquor traffic for beverage purposes in the District of Columbia, in the Territories, and all places over which the National Government has jurisdiction; the repeal of the internal revenue tax on alcoholic liquors and the prohibition of interstate traffic therein.

 3. The election of United States Senators by direct vote of the people.

 4. Equitable graduated income and inheritance taxes.

 5. The establishmment of postal savings banks and the guaranty of deposits in banks.

 6. The regulation of all corporations doing an interstate commerce business.

 7. The creation of a permanent tariff commission.

 8. The strict enforcement of laws instead of official tolerance and practical license of the social evil which prevails in many of our cities, with its unspeakable traffic in girls.

 9. Uniform marriage and divorce laws.

10. An equitable and constitutional employers liability act.

11. Court review of Post-Office Department decisions.

12. The prohibition of child labor in mines, workshops, and factories.

13. Legislation  basing suffrage only upon intelligence and ability to read and write the English language.

14. The preservation of the mineral and forest resources of the country, and the improvement of the highways and waterways.

 Believing in the righteousness of our cause and the final triumph of our principles, and convinced of the unwillingness of the Republican and Democratic parties to deal with these issues, we invite to full party fellowship all citizens who are with us agreed.

Source: www.prohibitionists.org

MMJ Supporter and Future

Brought to you by The Drug Free America Foundation

Recommended Reading: Could LifeRing be the next Big Step for Recovery?

It is good to be sober for almost 14 years and I am glad I made it this far by giving myself a second chance at life.  Everyday feels like a gift and every night I go to bed looking forward to the new possibilities the next day will bring.  I feel that way about life because I know life is here for me to make the most of it. 

When we enter recovery, we are uncertain about everything and wonder how and from whom we are going to receive the effective direction we need to get sober.  Those of us who make it in this journey of seeking the new sober life, realize that the person we need effective direction from the most, is our self!   The fact is this solution often remains unseen because we never realize that we must be teachable in order to find recovery.

One thing many of us are convinced of, is that our way of thinking does not work, because if it did, we would have never ended up addicted in the first place.  The truth is that addiction has taught us to no longer be teachable and when we get sober and learn new ways of living, we realize that being teachable is a large part of being sober.  But when we gain long-term recovery of five or more years, how do we get society to understand that for us there is no way back to the addicted way of life?

Society does not see us as people who are capable of having respectable lives ever again.  This is, without a doubt, where all people in recovery hit a stone wall, no matter how much they achieve in his or her recovery.  Because of this very sad reality, many do not see the point in staying sober.   Over time, many of us learn that society is ready to forget that we were addicts but they are not willing to forgive us and accept us as changed people.  This is simply not fair to those of us who have conquered our recovery and have done the work necessary to become contributing members of society. 

A few months ago, I was invited to speak on a panel in Santa Barbara, California.  The panel was about drug policy and the conversation was very loaded.  I wondered if there was anything I would come away with in terms of tools to help others in recovery.  Unfortunately, this is seldom the case.  But to my surprise I got an email from a sober man who told me about LifeRing Secular Recovery.  I looked up this program and was impressed with what I found.  Cofounder Martin Nicolaus has written a groundbreaking book entitled "Empowering Your Sober Self" about new solutions for recovery.  He has also pointed out what is wrong with our current system of recovery and how we can fix it.  LifeRing is a brand new hope on the horizon for those looking for a different solution to recovery.  It takes a healthier position than any other program I have ever seen and it’s creators have an in-depth understanding on how to make recovery more attractive for those who are looking to recover from a place of good character and self-empowerment.

I give LifeRing an A+ and recommend it to anyone who is looking for effective solutions to our broken system of recovery.  I especially recommend it to the courts that are bound by the Constitution from sending people in to the 12-Step program because it is a program based on religion.

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