TAKE DRUGS OUT OF HANDS OF GANGS

I agree that the onus for gangland violence should not rest solely
with those who pull the trigger, ("Blood money fuels drug trade," Aug
25), however, by your logic of blaming illicit drug users for funding
organized crime, alcohol drinkers were responsible for Al Capone.

In a way, you are right, but gangs battle over control of the illicit
drug trade because we abdicated the market to them so long ago that
we have forgotten why.

If we had a magic wand that could make illicit drug users feel guilty
for their irresponsible consumerism and switch to alcohol, we would
have much less gang violence and property crime, and much more
alcohol-fueled domestic violence, suicides, homicides, date rapes and
accidents.

However, lacking such a magic wand, the best and only way to deter
gangs from fighting over control of the illicit drug trade is to take
back control of the market.

There was no prohibition-related violence before prohibition, and the
violence ended the day after alcohol prohibition was repealed. We
will never make drugs or drug users go away, but we can stop
prohibition-related violence by ending prohibition. We need the
serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change
the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.