In the past many things were legal then made illegal such as certain drugs as they became more popular, prostitution, polygamy (in western countries) etc.
Things I predict may be restricted or made illegal
1: Unrestricted vehicle size. As concern about carbon levels increase restrictions on allowable sizes and types of personal vehicle use will adopted.
2: Herbal supplements and other “non-drugs” will be governed by some body that determines efficacy claims
3: Corporal punishment of children will be outlawed
What can you do now that will be outlawed in the future?
I suspect that throwaway polystyrene packaging foam’s days are numbered. There will be laws to force manufacturer take-back when the buyer is done with the package.
And then someone will discover a way to make oil out of it, and it will suddenly become very valuable…
Using cellphones/dvd players/blackberries while driving (I mean for the driver, not the passengers). Some laws are making handheld cellphones illegal already, but the statistics are fairly clear; it’s the cellphones, not the hands, that are causing the problems, and the laws will be enlarged to include all electronic driver distractions. Probably. After a high-ranking official loses a loved one to someone talking on a handsfree cellphone.
Cigarettes and/or smoking anywhere except your privately-owned home.
Salvia Divinorum. I’m amazed it’s still legal, and have occasionally been tempted to try it while it still it (not tempted enough to actually do it, but if hallucinogens were legal and perfectly safe, I would probably give one a try to see what all the fuss is about).
Anything under the purview of the BATFE, with the addition of gambling that is not state-sanctioned. Sure, we’ve been down that road before, but it doesn’t stop people from advocating banishment, and eventually those people will gain prominence, just like the temperance-activists of old. Repeating mistakes is something that we seem to enjoy doing.
Buying pseudoephedrine and pseudoephedrine-containing products without a prescription. You already have to request them from a pharmacist and present an ID in my state, with a limit on how many grams of pseudoephedrine you can purchase in total per month. The pharmacy staffs universally despise having to be the doorkeepers for this. I expect it will revert back to prescription drug status soon. Thanks a bunch, tweakers.
Cash - Too untraceable. Needs printing constantly. Too hard to control.
Driving - Cars will be able to travel more efficiently and more safely under computer control. I would expect that manual driving on Interstates will be first to go.
Unfettered Internet access - I think it’s still the wild west now, you’ll have to ID yourself somehow to get on the Internet in the future.
If all herbs and herbal supplements aren’t regulated as a group, then I think kava-kava will definitely be one that gets some restrictions put on it quickly. It’s already been restricted in several countries.
I have a high tolerance for any sort of sedating or relaxing medication and kava-kava works as well for me as 2-5mg of Valium, depending on other physical factors. I’m a pretty knowledgeable user… I never take it with alcohol, I never to even come close to the upper guidelines of 250mg of kavalactones daily, I never use it if I’ve been taking acetominophen or any liver-metabolised drug regularly. But I know other people aren’t doing this.
I remember back when I was in search of a recreational herbal drug I tried taking Kava Kava. I have no idea what the dosage was, but several times I tried taking quite a few pills (6, 7 more? don’t remember). The only think I remember about it is that my burps tasted awful for the next day or so, but I don’t remember anything other then that.
Another vote for salvia. There’s been talk of banning it forever but now that Youtube is here it will be SOON. It’s already illegal in a few states if I’m not mistaken.
How on Earth do you think that that is possible? The government would have to control the entire cable-based and over-the-air spectrum. Hint: they can’t.
I can see this happening. In the US, we have so many ways to access the Internet, that it would be difficult, but… Not long ago, the NSA injected itself right into one of AT&T’s backbones in an AT&T building a couple blocks from my office. They installed some sort of splitter into the fiber, and ran it off into a secret room. Nobody’s saying anything about what they did with the exabytes of data that they snarfed up.
If they can intercept a backbone, they can interrupt a backbone.
A little more down to earth, I can envision grass being made illegal. Turf grass. Lawns. We’re in a pretty bad drought here, and we’re probably not too far from having green lawns banned as they consume huge amounts of water.