DEMON POT

I'm writing about David S. Bernstein's outstanding "The $4 billion war
on pot" (News and Features, September 19).

Why do so many of our politicians want to criminalize a natural herb
that has never been shown to kill a single person? Why do apparently
intelligent people want to jail other people who use or sell an
easy-to-grow weed?

Perhaps to understand their position we should study the history of
prohibition. The notorious gangster Al Capone made most of his money
from the illegal trade in alcohol. Capone often bragged that he
"owned" Chicago. What he meant is that he had most or all of the
politicians and police who ran the city on his payroll. Al Capone was
a successful businessman, and it's not unreasonable to suspect that
the drug cartels of today are following his business model.

It's also not unreasonable to suspect that the drug cartels may have
many high-level politicians and police officials on their payroll. I'm
not saying that any specific so-called "drug warrior" is on the
payroll of the drug cartels -- just a little suspicious of the motives
of all drug-war cheerleaders.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Arizona