<p>“We don’t give up on punishing crimes because most crimes are illegal because the consequences of allowing them would be unequivocally worse than not allowing them, and moreover because most crimes infringe on others’ rights.”</p>
<p>Society came to a political decision (as it does in all matters of this kind) that 1) the consequences of allowing them would be unequivocally worse (in deaths - well-documented, future costs to society in alcoholism, and alcohol problems), and, the links between early alcohol use and later societal problems being clearly demonstrated, infringes dramatically on the rights of others.</p>