END DRUG WARS, LEGALIZE DRUGS

Re: ''Gang threat rising, police chiefs warn'' (Gazette, Aug. 21).

You know what's really a growing concern to Canadians? The fact that
one simple way to take a lot of money away from organized crime is to
legalize and regulate the drugs it traffics. As long as drugs,
especially marijuana, are illegal, then only the criminals can make
money from them.

Most Canadians would rather see drugs regulated and taxed, than see
their taxes go up again and again. You want to hurt these gangs? Hit
'em where it hurts! Take away their money by legalizing their biggest
commodity.

This is old news. Alcohol prohibition financed big gangsters like Al
Capone. When alcohol prohibition ended, so did bootlegging and
rum-running. The gangs' coffers went dry, the bad guys wept, and the
people rejoiced.

If drugs aren't legalized and regulated soon, it's likely we'll have
all-out drug wars with machine-gun fights on Canadian streets, just
like Chicago of the 1920s. Is that what the police want?

Russell Barth

Ottawa