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"organized crime" to the level that necessitated the RICO act only came about because of the war on drugs (in that particular case, alcohol was the drug in ques
by alasdair_ 13y ago
"organized crime" to the level that necessitated the RICO act only came about because of the war on drugs (in that particular case, alcohol was the drug in question).
- rayiner 13y agoWhile it's true that organized crime grew up during the bootlegging era, organized crime was on the upswing in the 1960's and 1970's, at a time long after prohibition had ended and before the modern drug war had started. Clearly, the fuel to feed organized crime existed without prohibition. Given that fact, it's hard to say that those organizations wouldn't have grown bigger and more sophisticated during that period anyway (just like corporations did, for reasons that had nothing to do with prohibition).
- jnbiche 13y agoThe modern drug war was well underway in the 1970s (watch Donnie Brasco again). It just had not yet morphed into the crack epidemic (an epidemic whose roots lay partially in the skyrocketing cost of cocaine due to the war on drugs).
- jnbiche 13y agoExactly my point. Prohibition was definitely part of this country's long-standing war on "illegal substances".