U.S. alcohol poisoning during Prohibition

During Prohibition, stopping people from drinking illegally apparently went far beyond simply banning alcohol. Industrial alcohol was deliberately denatured, making it dangerous to consume, as part of an effort to discourage people from obtaining and drinking it despite the nationwide ban.

The policy was aimed at enforcement, but the consequences were far more serious than confiscating bottles or shutting down illegal operations. People continued consuming the alcohol anyway, and the toxic substances added to it resulted in severe poisonings, injuries and deaths.

What makes the episode especially disturbing is the reasoning behind it. A government policy designed to prevent illegal drinking ended up creating an additional danger for people who consumed alcohol that had been deliberately made unsafe. It remains one of the darker consequences of how Prohibition was enforced.