Letter: Legal Drugs Could Be Balm To Sick Economy, Society
Robert M. Prowler
April 24, 2009
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
In 1919, an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the manufacture and sale of alcohol became law. Almost immediately, a crime wave swamped the nation as the manufacture and importation of liquor became the "drug" of choice. The rise of criminal gangs, whose sole purpose was the dispensing of "booze," led to the era's "drug wars." In 1933, Congress, having seen the error of its ways, put through the repeal amendment.
No one can dispute the fact that a user will use his choice of a "mind-bending" substance, whether it is legal or not. Therefore, it follows that illegality solves nothing; it only creates lawbreakers. If marijuana were made legal, two things would follow: The pressure on our criminal justice system would definitely ease, and the product would become taxable, thereby easing the fiscal pressure on the Treasury. In fact, if all drugs were legalized, the drug wars would end.
Legalization would not create a nation of users, just as the legalization of alcohol did not create a nation of drunks. |
