NOTHING LEARNED

I'm writing about, "The New Problem Drugs: Meth" (Empire, Nov. 25). During
the 1960s, I worked at a naval shipyard and several of my co-workers used
amphetamines known as "mini-bennies" or "whites." When these products were
taken off the market and made illegal, meth was reborn. Today's meth labs
are very similar to the illegal distilleries of the era known as the "Noble
Experiment." During our alcohol-prohibition era, thousands died and
thousands went blind or were crippled for life from what was then known as
"bathtub gin." Like the meth of today, the "bathtub gin" was easily made
from household and industrial products. Like the meth of today, the
"bathtub gin" was a product created by Prohibition. Like the meth of today,
illegal alcohol could be manufactured just about anywhere.

Like the meth of today, Prohibition-era alcohol was of unknown quality,
potency and purity. When alcohol prohibition ended in 1933, almost 100
percent of the "bathtub gin" producers went out of business for economic
reasons and stayed out of business for economic reasons. When alcohol
prohibition ended in 1933, the U. S. murder rate declined for 10
consecutive years. Have we learned any lessons? Not yet.

Kirk Muse

Mesa, Ariz.