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Unknown to most, December 17th was a very special day in the history books. It was a day of excitement, a day of celebration. It will be marked in the history books, and, in the future, people around the globe will celebrate it much like they celebrate Easter.
December 17th was, after all, my 18th birthday! (fun fact: the Wright brothers took their first flight from Kitty Hawk 116 years ago on that day). Now that I am 18, I can enjoy almost all of the perks of being an adult. I am able to vote. I can be drafted. In some states, I can gamble, and I can buy lottery tickets. And, in most states, I can purchase tobacco products!
The last action in that list seems subject to change, though.
With the end of the year comes an annual tradition in Washington DC: the must-pass spending bill. This year, the total dollar amount comes in around 1.3 trillion dollars, a hefty amount split between two appropriations bills.
Congress, as usual, left all of its important legislating to be done covertly in the last week before Christmas break. In these massive bills were appropriations for gun control research, a pay raise for federal workers, and the authorization of a Space Force to make up the sixth branch of the US military (funnily enough, it did not fund the building of what I presume will be the Pentagon’s replacement, the Hexagon).
This “Christmas bill” also included numerous tax cuts. As mentioned above, it also included a provision to raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco to 21 nationwide. As you would expect from such a major change in the law in Washington, it has flown under the radar, buried under the noise of impeachment.
This law change is wrong for numerous reasons. Prohibition has never worked, whether it is marijuana, alcohol, and, now, tobacco. Underage smoking will continue to happen, and those who participate will now engage in more black-market means of receiving their tobacco, which increases the health risk dramatically. This law also nationalizes what should be a state-level issue, further damaging the federalist structure of our Founders.
Finally, it further accentuates an already arbitrary divide: that between a child and an adult. If a person can be drafted at 18 and vote at 18, then they should be able to drink a beer and smoke a cigarette at the same age, or the former two actions should be made legal at 21.
My final plea on the subject: please contact your local Representative or Senator. Ask them what they are thinking.
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Scott Howard is a constitutionally-minded conservative freelance writer with a focus on fiscal matters and foreign policy. He has been an active contributor to The Liberty Hawk. You can follow him on Twitter: @thenextTedCruz
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