DE-CRIMINALIZE

Editor, The Journal

Praising Mike Harcourt for talking tough on organized crime, columnist
Hubert Beyer asked "Where is Elliot Ness when we need him?" ("Way to
go Mikey", Nov 25).

For the record, Elliot Ness did not defeat Al Capone with draconian
penalties, quasi-legal enforcement practices or Orwellian police
powers. Ness and his "untouchables" raided warehouses, just as "green
teams" raid cannabis "grow-ops" today, but they never posed a serious
threat.

Capone was ultimately charged with tax evasion. Capone's successors
made a killing until alcohol prohibition was repealed, whereupon many
switched to narcotics, as did the police.

Some say future gangsters and vice squads will find new ways to grow
rich and powerful when we re-legalize cannabis and the remaining
drugs, but that is hard for me to imagine ... unless we prohibit junk
food.

Matthew M. Elrod

Victoria