Opinion | Prohibition: A parallel to modern war on drugs | Seattle Times Newspaper

Opinion | Prohibition: A parallel to modern war on drugs | Seattle Times Newspaper

KEN Burns' new documentary on alcohol prohibition, premiering on PBS Sunday, reportedly begins with a Mark Twain quote: "It is the prohibition that makes anything precious."

As a retired police officer who worked to enforce today's prohibition — the "war on drugs" — I think it's a lesson we would do well to remember.

It was the prohibition of alcohol that made it so valuable to criminals, providing the tax-free dollars that turned neighborhood street gangs into national crime syndicates headed by the likes of Al Capone and Charles ("Lucky") Luciano.

Prohibition did little to curb liquor consumption,