More than five years after it was launched, America’s latest war on drugs has given rise to a chorus of questions about its efficacy and its problematic side effects. Policy makers, journalists, and the general public have increasingly looked to alternatives to drug prohibition such as decriminalization and public health approaches. People have also been drawn to the history of America’s experiences with alcohol prohibition and regulation.

In this article we review some major questions about the rise, fall, and effects of alcohol prohibition, and we examine the logic, rationale, and organization of alcohol regulation following its prohibition. We focus on lessons from alcohol prohibition that might be useful for understanding drug prohibition, and on various principles governing alcohol regulation that might apply to drug regulation. In the final section we try to assess the prospects for radical drug law reform by comparing current conditions with those prevailing at the time alcohol prohibition was repealed.

Historica1 analogies cannot, of course, provide simple and straightforward answers to the complex drug policy questions now confronting Americans. Closer attention to the story of alcohol prohibition and regulation, However, can help us to understand better the inherent problems and process of drug prohibition while illuminating a wider array of policy options. To set the stage; we begin with a brief overview of the history of temperance, prohibition, repeal, and alcohol regulation in America.