Cole: Chicago aldermen learning lessons of Prohibition, sort of

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Updated: January 30, 2012 10:34AM

If there’s one place where the lessons of Prohibition might have had a lasting effect, you’d think it would be Chicago.

In the 1920s, the city embodied the inevitable consequences of laws banning extremely popular pursuits — grisly violence, rampant corruption, easy availability of the illegal item and robust growth for criminal gangs.

Against that historical backdrop, the recent support for marijuana decriminalization by Chicago and Cook County elected officials is encouraging. Several aldermen and county commissioners have sensibly pointed out how eliminating criminal penalties for possession of a small amount of marijuana can save taxpayers money and free police resources for fighting violent crime.

But in other ways, some of these same leaders are acting as if they don’t understand the lessons of Prohibition. Recently, Chicago aldermen unanimously passed a ban on “synthetic marijuana,” a range of products that simulate the effects of the real thing.

Proponents say banning the substance will reduce any possible threat it poses, will prevent children from getting it and will help keep our community safe and productive.

But after a career in drug enforcement, it’s clear to me that our efforts in the war on drugs have not made a dent. The only thing that has changed is that marijuana and other drugs have steadily become more available, affordable and potent.

The same dynamic we saw in the 1920s with alcohol applies to marijuana enforcement today. No law and no level of police skill and dedication can end the use of a substance that is extremely popular and profitable.

But worse than being ineffective, our misguided efforts to combat illegal drugs has caused astounding collateral damage. The only winners are criminal groups that reap enormous, tax-free profits.

The losers are everyone else — victims of violence, police departments whose law enforcement capability is undermined by an impossible task and taxpayers whose hard-earned dollars are diverted from other serious challenges we face.

Far from protecting children, the ban on synthetic marijuana, like other failed prohibitions before it, maximizes threats to young people. These products won’t disappear from our communities. They’ll just be sold by criminals who bring them in from other states to make tax-free profits.

Let’s not forget that the only reason synthetic marijuana is in Chicago stores is that the real thing is illegal. While that doesn’t deter many people from using marijuana, there are some who prefer a legal approximation they can buy in stores instead of going to dealers.

Even with the ban, do aldermen really believe there won’t be new and legal designer drugs on shelves soon?

I believe we can reduce drug abuse, but not by prohibition. Rather than wasting resources by arresting people, we can fund public education efforts like those that have led to substantial reductions in cigarette smoking without putting anyone in handcuffs.

It’s great that aldermen are discussing decriminalizing marijuana possession, but that alone won’t cease today’s worse-than-Capone gang and cartel violence.

Only by legalizing and regulating the marijuana market can we put a serious dent in drug gangs’ cash flow. Regulated product and taxed sales would also generate much new revenue for public budgets.

Chicago has a chance to learn from its history. Let’s not repeat the errors of the 1920s or add to ones we’ve made in drug policy since then. Let’s begin to enact regulations, including those on production, age limits and restrictions on advertising.

And by all means, pass that marijuana decriminalization ordinance.

George Cole, a speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, was a police officer in Calumet Park, a correctional officer with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.