Prohibition flopped - and my gambling is my business and not anyone else's

Prohibition never ends well. I make this claim with some historical certainty, having watched The Untouchables again last night. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that if the Volstead Act of 1920 hadn't banned the manufacture, importation, transport and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States, Sean Connery would still be alive.

The problem with banning stuff is that if it's stuff people really want, they'll find other ways of getting it, with varying degrees of urgency and scant regard for the consequences.

Apparently some thirsty Americans simply fermented legally available grape juice; others continued to drink booze made from industrial alcohol, even when it had been wilfully poisoned by the authorities, resulting in much death; organised crime thrived on the chaos and doctors prescribed medicinal whisky on a scale that suggested it might be good for you after all.