LESSONS FROM PROHIBITION

I'm writing about the outstanding letter from Calvin Acuff, MD:
"Legalize Drugs." If the United States re-legalized all of our now
illegal drugs so they can be sold in regulated and licensed business
establishments for pennies per dose, would this solve our drug problems? No.

But it would substantially reduce our crime rate. Alcohol prohibition
was not abolished in 1933 because it was decided that alcohol was not
so bad, but rather because of the crime and corruption that
prohibition caused. In 1933, our overall crime rate declined
substantially and our murder rate declined for 10 consecutive years.
Have we learned any lessons from this experience? Not yet.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.