PROHIBITION CAN KILL

THANK you so much for printing Lynn Harichy’s letter. People who support
drug prohibition should know how much damage current policies
cause.Prohibition is violence. As we saw in the first half of this century,
outlawing the sale of alcohol created a huge market that was, by necessity,
protected with guns. Distributors of illegal drugs care little about the
innocent bystanders, but legitimate business people are eager for repeat
customers. If you support Prohibition, you support random acts of violence.

Economically, making drugs illegal is folly. When Congress outlawed liquor,
they essentially handed an entire industry to criminals. The resulting
organisation of crime affects our society to this day.

One of the nastiest effects of pouring all drug proceeds into criminal
hands is the endemic corruption it causes.

We don’t know how to estimate the number of border agents are on the take,
because we can’t make an educated guess as to how many are getting away
with it! As a result, public confidence in the police plummets.

If you support prohibition, you’re on the same side of the issue as every
major heroin and cocaine dealer.

Danny Terwey,
221 Bay Street,
Santa Cruz,
CA 95060