LEGALIZING DOPE WOULD HELP

Re: Rivals are poised to fill the power vacuum Column, June 14

The signs that others are ready to restore gangland commerce in drugs
and competition by gunplay tends to render the latest police cleanup
raids fruitless in the long run. Surely our governments could learn
from history how to combat gang warfare more effectively.

Repealing the laws that banned the sale of beer and booze in Ontario
in 1927 after 10 years of Prohibition, and in the U.S. in 1933 after
13 years, undercut Mob commerce and combat. Ontario society also
gained by controlling and taxing liquor, and enforcing moderation in
public and on streets and highways.

So why not legalize dope and invoke similar restraints on its use?
Marijuana already is cited as a helpful treatment for some ailments.
Ending its outright public prohibition would surely strike a blow
against the gunners in gangs.

Carl Mollins,

Toronto