ALCOHOL BAN IN TURKEY
By Serhat ANT
Our president Abdullah Gül ultimately approved the bill restricting alcohol consumption. On May 24, Parliament adopted the bill proposed by the government, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP), in other words, Justice and Development Party. The president, Gül, was let decide on it for 15 days. He approved it and stated that the bill should be seen as a “regulation” rather than a ban.
When we look at the background of the events, we should go back to 2001, when the current government, Justice and Development Party, was elected as the first party at the elections. By then, having strong roots from all over the world, the government has been starting to arrange everything in the country however their members want. They located their own forces to the every place of the country’s ruling branches. With time passing by, they were elected as the most voted party at all elections, and have become more and more powerful every passing year.
The starting point of the alcohol ban has gradually been accepted by the public. First, they brainwashed ignorant people with macaroni and coal distributed for free. They made ignorant people addicted to themselves. After come more serious stages. For example, they deteriorated justice system, education system, economy, tourism, natural beauties of the country. They created a nasty environment in politics. They prohibited everything about Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. They removed his actions from the school books. They even removed his portraits from government offices. They simply try to reduce the effect of Atatürk and his legacy to the lowest level, which is unforgivable.
They pretend to be religious in front of the public. Most of Turkish people are so ignorant that they vote AKP just because Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in other words, so-called Sultan, uses religious figures in his public speech such as “Allah”, “Peygamber”, “Muhammet”, and even “İnşallah” or he is handsome, showman and good-looking.
They started to settle their policies on a religious basis. In this sense, they made every move gradually, sneakingly and slowly. At last, they dropped a brick. The most honorable (!) person of our country, our head, our Sultan, our Great Dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared that they would bring up a religious and conservative generation. One should have reminded him that we do not live in a fascist nation and it is a secular country! However, no politicians could dare to rebel his saying, which is not surprising at all.
After the Declaration of Independence (you should accept that it was a good joke) … After the declaration of religious generation, they started to make up policies which, they think, would be beneficial for the youth, in other word, religious people, more precisely, believed to be like that(!) by RTE(Robber, Tarnished, Egotistical), and his brothers being as intelligent(!) as RTE. They get to such a desperate point that they started to harshly restrict personal freedom of the Turkish Nation.
Now, they forbid alcohol consumption. According to the new law approved by the President;
1) Retailers will no longer be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
2) All sorts of advertising campaigns will be completely banned, such as promotions, sponsored activities, festivals and free giveaways. The only exception will be the international fairs aimed at international marketing of the alcoholic beverages.
3) Violators of the advertising ban will be punished with financial penalties ranging from 5000 to 200,000 Turkish liras.
4) Under the bill, alcohol companies would no longer be allowed to promote their brands and logos, these can only be used as part of service inside the facility.
5) All liquor bottles sold would have to display warning signs about the harms of alcohol, again similar to those found on cigarette packages.
6) In TV series, films and music videos, images that glorify the consumption of alcohol will be prohibited. Images of alcohol would be blurred, the same way as cigarettes are being blurred at the moment.
7) Alcoholic beverages will not be allowed to be purchased from vending machines. Beverages could not be sold from see-through shop windows and cannot be sold to be consumed outside the facility.
8) Student dormitories, health institutions, sports clubs, all sorts of education institutions and gas stations will be banned from selling alcohol. Already acquired licenses to sell alcohol will remain intact, yet to get new ones, facilities are required to be located outside the perimeter of 100 meters of educational and religious centers.
9) Those who want to get licenses to sell alcohol from the Tobacco and Alcohol Market Regulatory Authority (TAPDK) will be conditioned to get the license to open up a business from the municipality and then a tourism document from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Before granting a license the municipalities will get the opinion of the authorized law enforcement forces.
10) The alcohol limit for drivers has also been decreased from 1 to 0.5 promil. If the driver is to exceed this limit, they will be penalized with a fine of 700 liras and their driving license will be seized for a period of six months. Smoking while driving is also prohibited.
REACTIONS RISING AGAINST THE BAN
The soundest reactions came from Turkey’s biggest beverage company, Efes Pilsen.
That’s the newspaper advertisement of the company.
Below is the opening page of the company’s website.
The other smart criticism came from Yeni Rakı, biggest Turkish Raki company of the country.
Two newspaper advertisements of the company are really emotional and successful.
Another criticism is from Şarap Üreticileri Derneği, i.e. Turkish Wine Producers Association, which is highly meaningful and moving.
MY POINT OF VIEW
It is such a shame for our country that the foreigners change their minds to visit Turkey. The situation is so cruel and desperate that it is impossible for one to be happy in Turkey. Turkey’s regime is not democracy anymore; it is a dictatorship! We are ruled by a fascist and idiot dictator, RTE. Where is our freedom? Why cannot we drink alcohol whenever we want? Government should not be able to ban my entertainment. Something must be done to prevent these bad things from happening to my beautiful county. We need to do something! We need to resist!
I end my part with a saying: “People should not be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.”
REFERENCES
LEGALIZATION OF CANNABIS IN U.S – SHOULD IT BE LEGAL OR ILLEGAL?
By Gonca ASLAN
Legalization of cannabis in all countries has been a controversial issue. Especially in more developed countries and in countries that give attention to human rights it’s becoming a fact that a lot of people wants their marijuana usage to become legal. People in different views suggest different ideas for marijuana legalization issue. In this article I will present this views.
Firstly, most supporters of legalizing marijuana say that it’s a useful medicine for some patients, including cancer. This is why many states in United States (currently 19) (ProCon.org, 2013) legalized medical use of marijuana. However, marijuana use is not completely free, there are limited amounts of marijuana a person may carry with him or her. People who don’t support marijuana legalization want to show the point that marijuana can also cause damage to human health as alcohol and tobacco. But the point is, marijuana has much less addiction rate than alcohol and tobacco. (Rabin, 2013) Marijuana also damages lungs as tobacco, but since the consumption rate of marijuana is much less than tobacco, it’s not as dangerous as tobacco. As I mentioned before, 19 states in the U.S either legalized marijuana for medical use or de-criminalized it. (ProCon.org, 2013) Supporters of marijuana points that taking medicines is a personal right and government or other institutions can not restrict this right. (Messerli, 2011) Legalization of the marijuana can prevent secondary crimes related to marijuana distribution. It’s known that when it is illegal distribution of marijuana make people to commit crimes, if it is legal, government can also get taxes from distribution and sale of marijuana, and marijuana distribution can be under control. So, it both reduces crime and creates a new income for government.
It is estimated that in California only tax income from legalization of marijuana can be $1.4 billion. (Peters, 2012)In today’s economy governments need new resources and incomes every time and legalizing marijuana can be an important income opportunity for governments. Legalizing marijuana also reduces expenses spent to reduce crime, so with taxes combined this income can be used for social services or other society needs. Also, the police would be more focused on more serious crimes if the crimes related to drug usage would disappear. “Aside from recreational drug use, Cannabis has several industrial and commercial uses, as over 25,000 products can be made from the crop.” (Messerli, 2011) Cannabis plant is a useful material for producing hemp which is essential for making numerous products. People who don’t support marijuana legalization claim that legalizing marijuana makes it easier for children to meet with the drug (Messerli, 2011). Legal substances are everywhere and there is not enough control to keep the children away from all of them. Non-supporters also think that marijuana is a “gateway” drug, so when a person starts using marijuana, he or she is in danger of moving to other drugs and these other drugs are more dangerous, more addictive and chemical. The earlier people start using marijuana, the more addicted they can be to that substance. (Rabin, 2013)
These are the ideas and facts that is considered by supporters and non-supporters of marijuana legalization. However, I think it is more of a moral subject. Both non-supporters and supporters know that both tobacco and alcohol are more dangerous and addictive than marijuana, and criminalization of marijuana causes some problems in society. This is why in some countries like England, marijuana is an illegal substance however, there is not a strict control and it is often unenforced.
Even more conservative people in U.S. started to support legalization of marijuana use, or controlled distribution and consumption of it. For example Pat Robertson who is an evangelic leader and has audience for many people recently said that “We should treat marijuana like we treat beverage alcohol.” (McKinley, 2012) I think American society is getting more and more ready for legalization of marijuana, after its appearance as a counter-culture symbol in 1960’s this plant. It’s surprising that how conservative people started to stand for legalizing for marijuana.
Marijuana using rate among youth in countries are increasing and it’s inevitable that there must be something done about it, and I think that it is people’s choice to decide what is harmful for them or society. I also think that banning marijuana and allowing tobacco and alcohol is hypocrisy. It is my opinion that sooner or later controlled and limited usage of marijuana will be available for U.S.
REFERENCES
McKinley, J. (2012, March 7). Pat Robertson Says Marijuana Use Should be Legal. Retrieved from New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/08/us/pat-robertson-backs-legalizing-marijuana.html?_r=0 in May 20, 2013
Messerli, J. (2011, June 8). Should Marijuana be Legalized under any Circumstances? Retrieved from Balanced Politics: http://www.balancedpolitics.org/marijuana_legalization.htm in May 20, 2013
Peters, J. W. (2012, December 7). A Look at Taxing Marijuana. Retrieved from New York Times: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/taxing-marijuana/ in May 20, 2013
ProCon.org. (2013, May 13). 18 Legal Medical Marijuana States and DC. Retrieved from ProCon: http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000881 in May 20, 2013
Rabin, R. C. (2013, January 7). Legalizing of Marijuana Raises Health Concerns. Retrieved from New York Times: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/legalizing-of-marijuana-raises-health-concerns/ in May 20, 2013
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Do you think alcohol ban is a good decision? Why/why not?
2) Do you think AKP is aware of that the nations get to rebel?
3) Do you think Cannabis should be legalized? Why/why not?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) Do you think alcohol ban is a good decision? Why/why not?
2) Do you think AKP is aware of that the nations get to rebel?
3) Do you think Cannabis should be legalized? Why/why not?
SERHAT ANT - GONCA ASLAN
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