LEGAL DRUGS COULD BE BALM TO SICK ECONOMY, SOCIETY

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.

Robert M. Prowler, Pompano Beach