WE FAILED TO LEARN LESSONS OF PROHIBITION

Kudos to letter writer Robert Gregg for his outstanding letter: "We
can't win the war on drugs," on April 2.

I'd like to add that when alcohol was criminalized, it didn't stop
people from buying and drinking alcohol. It just stopped people from
buying their alcohol from legal, regulated and taxed sources. The sale
and distribution of alcohol was controlled by criminal gangs - just
like recreational drugs are today.

And when alcohol was criminalized, alcohol was of unknown quality,
unknown purity and unknown potency - just like recreational drugs are
today.

When alcohol was re-legalized in 1933, our overall crime rate declined
substantially and our murder rate declined for 10 consecutive years.

Have we learned any lessons?

Not yet.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.