Al Capone the Biggest Prohibition Supporter

There was no greater or more charismatic character during the time of prohibition than Al Capone. He was the product of what prohibition created in the short time it was in effect. His face is synonymous with prohibition and all of the problems that come with it. When no one was able to get a beer, Al was happy to help all of the thirsty people residing in Chicago. So does this mean that Al Capone was a crusader for good, allowing people to enjoy the freedom of having a drink on a Friday night at a speakeasy? Hell no! Al Capone was a gangster that took advantage of people and killed others that got in his way. He broke the law by smuggling alcohol into the United States and then illegally sold it. Did he do this because he knew prohibition was morally wrong? No! He did it just to turn a profit and make himself rich. It would make sense why Capone wanted prohibition to remain in effect. It was the most lucrative illegal business of the time, and he had the entire market strictly under his control.

Sure Al made statements like “Prohibition has caused nothing but trouble” and “I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand”, but he had no intention of truly serving the public. If he did, he would have been more outspoken about prohibition and wouldn’t be profiting off of it. The reason why he never tried to get prohibition overturned is that he had the whole market cornered. In many ways an illegal business is much easier to run than a legal business. There are no laws or regulations that you have to follow. The only rules that you follow are your own. Competing with someone in the illegal market doesn’t consist of running add campaigns against them or promoting your own product over theirs, it consists of killing them. America never profited off of alcohol sales back then like it does today. There was no tax on liquor, nor were there bars or breweries that created jobs for people. All of that potential money that alcohol created went right to Capone and funded his criminal enterprise. The man didn’t even pay income taxes. This is the same thing that is happening with the cartels in Mexico. I guarantee that all of the drug kingpins want marijuana to remain illegal. This way they make all of the profit, and America gains nothing but violence to our south and violence in our own streets. In fact we lose money because we keep throwing millions of dollars into the black hole which is the drug war. Prohibition has supported many criminal enterprises over the decades. Everything from Capone in Chicago to Escobar in Columbia, and while this is not what prohibition intentionally creates, it still remains a grim fact.

Will we ever learn from the lessons of history or will we be doomed to repeat this same cycle? I believe that the American people are smart enough to realize that marijuana can be much more of an asset rather than a burden on this country. Prohibition does absolutely nothing except create more crime, and is supported by every major criminal enterprise. It’s time for America to take marijuana away from criminals and give it to its citizens.