Pubdate: Mon, 17 Dec 2007
Source: Daily Forty-Niner (Cal State Long Beach, CA Edu)
Copyright: 2007 Daily Forty-Niner
Contact: http://www.daily49er.com/home/lettertotheeditor/
Website: http://www.daily49er.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1391
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v07/n1438/a11.html
Author: Kirk Muse

DRUG POLICY FITS HISTORIC MODEL

This is regarding Niki Payne's outstanding column: "New pot raids 
call for new leadership" In the Dec. 12 issue of the Daily Forty-Niner.

Beyond just the use of marijuana as medicine, why do so many of our 
politicians want to keep a natural herb that has never been 
documented to kill a single person, a criminalized substance? Why do 
apparently intelligent people want to arrest and jail other people 
who use or sell an easy-to-grow weed?

Perhaps to understand their position, we should study the history of 
U.S. alcohol prohibition. The notorious gangster Al Capone made most 
of his illegally obtained money from alcohol prohibition. Capone 
often bragged that he "owned" the city of Chicago. Obviously, he 
didn't own all of the city of Chicago; however, he had most, or all, 
of the politicians and police who ran the city on his payroll.

Capone was a successful businessman and it's not unreasonable to 
suspect that the drug cartels of today are following his business 
model. It's also not unreasonable to suspect that the drug cartels 
may have many high-level politicians and police officials on their payroll.

The type of politicians the drug cartels would have on their payroll 
are those who advocate the continuation of the status quo of drug 
prohibition, which is making the drug cartels so fabulously wealthy.

I'm not saying that any specific so-called "drug warrior" is on the 
payroll of the drug cartels -- it's just a little suspicious. I'm 
just a little suspicious of the motives of all of the drug-war cheerleaders.

- -- Kirk Muse,

Mesa, Ariz.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom