Yesterday was fight prohibition day for me.

Over on StogieGuys.com I published a commentary on Baltimore’s proposed ban on selling individual cigars that cost less than two dollars each:

Like most prohibitions – last time I checked drugs were also illegal in Baltimore, but readily available – this ban is destined to fail. Enterprising individuals will be able to buy these cigars by the box and then illegally sell them on the street to anyone willing to buy them, including children. And any health benefits are likely to be undone when, instead of smoking cigars, people will turn to more addictive and unhealthy cigarettes.

For those of us who enjoy premium cigars, the worst part of the ban is the precedent that it would set. The City Health Commissioner ominously calls the ban “a small but important step forward.”

The bureaucrat’s quote begs the question: What exactly is this a small step forward towards? The answer can only be one thing: further bans on tobacco products.

Meanwhile the Morning Sentinel, the local newspaper for the town of Waterville, Maine where Colby College is located (from where I graduated in 2005), published my letter to the editor regarding some thuggish comments made by the local police chief regarding drinking by (gasp) college students:

[Police Chief] Massey has a history of foolish remarks regarding Colby students and alcohol: During my senior year at Colby, he was quoted in the Sentinel threatening to arrest Colby students who responsibly acted as designated drivers.

That same year, as a member of Colby’s College Affairs Committee, I saw firsthand the time and effort that Colby administrators put into crafting a policy regarding students and alcohol. The task is not easy, because a substantial portion of Colby students are older than 21 and can drink legally.

And the hypocrisy of the law that treats 18- to 20-year-olds as adults who can vote or be sent to war but cannot legally have a single beer certainly makes the creation of a fair alcohol policy difficult, as it is neither wise nor desirable for Colby to treat adult students like children.

Waterville deserves better than a police chief who responds to good-faith efforts to encourage responsible drinking with lawbreaking. Perhaps someone should inform Massey that prohibition was repealed.

For background on Chief Massey see this post from Right Wing News.