Reduce drug profits, reduce crime

THE EDITOR: It is acknowledged by all either to a greater or lesser degree or whether temporary or permanent that crime is out of control. Crime in this country can be subdivided into but not limited to: an unacceptable murder rate, kidnap rate, and an unacceptable drug problem. If we start with the unacceptable drug problem we should be aware that all efforts up to the present time have failed to provide a solution. There are too many persons in this society who have a vested interest in the continuation of the drug epidemic to permit a solution and as long as the USA is the destination of choice for those drugs the market will increase.

Students of the constitutional law of the USA and Canada are aware that the outright criminalisation of the sale of alcohol led to one of the worst episodes of crime in the history of America. Apart from producing hundreds of Al Capones and other famous gangland “greats” that era created hundreds of millionaires and billionaires, some of whose children and grandchildren have now achieved high respectability and high political office in America. Is the unfortunate aspect of “Prohibition” history being repeated in Trinidad and Tobago? Once the prohibition laws were repealed the bottom dropped out of the illicit alcohol market and the gangsters, mobsters and others who benefited from prohibition passed into history.

When last did you hear of gangland war over alcohol? The decriminalisation and sensible control of marijuana and cocaine as is done in several of the Scandinavian countries will cause the bottom to drop out of the drug trade immediately. Has anyone in this Administration taken a serious look at the Scandinavian/Swiss experiment? If we adopt a sensible approach to the drug trade problem one suspects that there will be no more turf wars/killings in Laventille etc, and that novel and sensible approach will go a long way towards cutting off the head of the snakes involved in shipment of illicit drugs from Colombia and Venezuela via Trinidad to the USA.

Many people in this country are alleged to have made their millions and billions from that despicable trade and have successfully laundered their money which is now invested in “respectable” businesses. They will now have to look for legitimate means to earn a legitimate income, eg, agriculture, eco-tourism, development of specialised arts and crafts, audio, video and movie productions, sports etc.

If we successfully eliminate the drug trade in this country, I am satisfied that the kidnap problem will be contained and possibly eliminated as it is rumoured that there is some relationship between kidnappings and the drug trade. The increased murder rate centres around a lot of gangland and turf wars which in turn are closely connected to the same drug trade problem. In other words the elements of crime are connected and to me solving one could be the solution to solving the others. There may be some persons who disagree with my approach to the problem/problems outlined in this letter.  Feel free to point out why this approach cannot work.

M HOTIN
St James