{"id":6114,"date":"2023-01-25T09:34:11","date_gmt":"2023-01-25T14:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=6114"},"modified":"2023-07-13T11:24:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-13T15:24:42","slug":"hold-my-beer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/01\/25\/hold-my-beer\/","title":{"rendered":"Hold My Beer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Prohibition<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Up front, I am pretty much in favor of legalizing things that you can\u2019t control.  Using marijuana, for example, should be legalized (and sales controlled) nationwide.  Whatever you think of using the drug, making it against the law didn\u2019t work.  That ship sailed.  The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 48.2 million Americans used marijuana at least once in 2019, over 18% of the population.   The lessons of Prohibition learned in the 1920\u2019s apply today \u2013 by making marijuana illegal we are creating a black market for drug sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And sure, there are people who abuse marijuana \u2013 there\u2019s even a term for it; \u201cmarijuana use disorder\u201d.  They carefully don\u2019t call it \u201caddiction\u201d, though there are people who seem to be unable to function without the drug.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

America has been addicted to alcohol, legally, since 1934.  70% of Americans had at least one drink last year; that\u2019s more than 200 million people.  And while there are estimated to be 15 million alcoholics, we recognize that banning alcohol didn\u2019t work.  Banning marijuana doesn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federalism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Legalization is happening, in all of the \u201cglory\u201d of our Federal system.  Twenty-one states have made recreational use of marijuana legal.  You can drive down the streets and see the green leafed \u201cdope stores\u201d, almost as many as beer stores in California and Colorado.  Like alcohol, the state gets a cut of the sales. Another sixteen states, including Ohio, legalized \u201cmedical\u201d marijuana.  With a prescription, you can get a state \u201cMarijuana Card\u201d, and then legally purchase the drug.  The prescription, available online, runs about $150, and the registration card another $50.  For a little fibbing and $200 a year, you can be a legal Ohio medical marijuana user, along with  323,000 of your fellow citizens (Ohio<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when Ohio legalized gambling as of January 1st<\/sup>, I figured it was an all-around good thing.  Gambling used to be  \u201cback door\u201d.  It was legal at the horse races, but otherwise against the law.  You could go and place a bet on a  filly to win-place-or-show at Scioto Downs.  But you couldn\u2019t lay a legal bet on the Bengals to win the Super Bowl.  Serious gamblers found illegal places; the backroom poker game or a bookie at the end of the bar.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place Your Bet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ohioans like to bet on anything.  Back \u201cin the day\u201d, when the state track meet was in the Horseshoe at Ohio State, you could even bet on the kids\u2019 races.  Just take a seat in the top row near the finish line, and wait.  Soon you\u2019d hear how much someone was willing to put on the kid in lane six of the 100 meter dash. Someone would take the bet, and the money passed down the row.  It was always out there, but it was not very visible.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh, and then there was BINGO!!  Bingo itself wasn\u2019t particularly gambling \u2013 but a part of any good bingo game was instant ticket sales, with great names like \u201cBetter than Sex\u201d.  As a bingo caller (\u201cA \u2013 4\u201d) I had to identify what instant game was \u201con the floor\u201d.  So I\u2019d call out: \u201cBetter than Sex is now on the floor\u201d, followed by \u201c\u2026but you know, there\u2019s really nothing better than sex on the floor\u201d.  The audience of mostly older ladies reached in their bras, pulled out their cash, and ate those tickets up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get Our Share<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

And then Ohio built casinos throughout the state.  Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati all got a casino site.  Part of the reason:  Ohioans were casino gamblers, and they were going in masses to Indiana, West Virginia and Michigan to play.  The State legislature figured they were missing a lot of tax revenue, so why not \u201cdip in\u201d and get Ohio\u2019s share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So while good-old strait-laced Ohio was against gambling, we were on the slippery slope.  And as of January 1st<\/sup> 2023, we are now an open-gambling paradise.  You can pull out your cell phone, or go to a \u201csports bar\u201d, and bet on any game you want, legally.  In fact, you can bet on the game, or the quarter, or whether Taylor will return a punt for a touchdown or Higgins will catch the next pass.  You can watch the game not to see the Bengals shock the Bills, but as an ongoing investment, you against the world, betting the yardage and the play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bet at Home<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Every Ohioan now has a \u201csports-book\u201d in his or her pocket.  But what I really wasn\u2019t ready for was the onslaught of television ads.   Bet the first $5, and they\u2019ll give you $200 more to bet with.  Talk about the \u201cpusher-man\u201d hanging out by the playground with \u201cfree samples\u201d. The sports-book guys are in your living room, and impatiently waiting in your pocket.  They\u2019ll get their $200 back and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It almost \u201cun-Buckeyean\u201d to not bet.  Speaking of the \u201cBuckeyes\u201d, there was vast disappointment when they lost on a missed field goal to Georgia on December 31st<\/sup>.  Ohioans couldn\u2019t legally bet (probably put $10 down on miss left or right) and were desperate for the team to win.  The Championship game was after midnight \u2013 putting money on the \u201cBuckeyes\u201d legally on your own phone \u2013 the real test of any fan of THE Ohio State University football team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gambling is legal, but it\u2019s definitely scary.  The pressure is intense.  I\u2019m not a gambler, but even I feel \u201cleft out\u201d when I see all those TV ads.  It\u2019s only a couple of taps on the phone.  But I\u2019m holding off \u2013 I don\u2019t want someone else to \u201chold my beer\u201d while I play!  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prohibition Up front, I am pretty much in favor of legalizing things that you can\u2019t control.  Using marijuana, for example, should be legalized (and sales controlled) nationwide.  Whatever you think of using the drug, making it against the law didn\u2019t work.  That ship sailed.  The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 48.2 million Americans used marijuana at least once … Continue reading “Hold My Beer”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHold My Beer : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/01\/25\/hold-my-beer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hold My Beer : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Prohibition Up front, I am pretty much in favor of legalizing things that you can\u2019t control.  Using marijuana, for example, should be legalized (and sales controlled) nationwide.  Whatever you think of using the drug, making it against the law didn\u2019t work.  That ship sailed.  The Centers for Disease Control estimates that 48.2 million Americans used marijuana at least once … Continue reading "Hold My Beer"\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2023\/01\/25\/hold-my-beer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Our America - 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