Letter: Legalizing Marijuana Would Foil Criminals
Floyd Krautner
June 17, 2009
The Albany Herald (Albany, GA)
Carlton Fletcher's otherwise excellent column (DailyViews, June 14) about marijuana makes one mistake. The terms "decriminalization" and "legalization" are not interchangeable. In today's terms, "decriminalization" means to remove most penalties from users while still seeking felony convictions for suppliers. We need to remember that this was exactly the same legal status alcohol had during alcohol prohibition.
When Eliot Ness raided a speakeasy, the customers went home while the bootleggers went to prison. This policy enabled Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and other career criminals to control the outlaw alcohol market for 13 years. Hundreds of murders, bombings and shootings were done every year by evil men seeking to control the rotgut liquor market. Giving control of the alcohol market to criminals caused incredible damage to society. Crime, corruption and violence reached enormous proportions.
Leaving penalties in place for marijuana suppliers will continue the current policy with very little benefit. Unless marijuana is made completely legal, it will always be controlled by criminals. What is needed is a regulated market and that is impossible with prohibition in place. |
