Legalise It (The Making of Al Capone)

Lyrics

It was the making of Al Capone
And we are down the prohibition road again
History laughing in our faces
Farce and tragedy rolled into one

Can’t we bring some sense to bear?
Can’t we bring some sense to bear on this?
Can’t we bring some sense to bear on this?
Legalise it

So much money to go around and round
For politicians, policemen, warders and the rest
A head rolls bloody across a disco floor
‘Plata o plomo’, corruption or death

Maria’s full of grace and now something more
Sees the chance to raise her family up
Feeling sick as the plane comes into land
Hope the bag don’t break, pray to your Virgin, trust your luck

This is no stoner song
Is no hymn to getting wasted
But if something goes so very wrong
Must be time to change it
Must be time to change it

It was the making of Al Capone
And Joseph Kennedy too I hear
History laughing in our faces
Farce and tragedy rolled into one

Song Description

A song about the complete failure of the ‘war on drugs’. Prohibition of drugs is not working, as it failed to work in the USA in the twenties when the target was alcohol. In fact the policy is a disaster as the drug cartels in a country like Mexico are now so powerful that they control a lot of the politicians and huge swathes of the police force and even the army.

Legalising drugs does not mean encouraging their consumption.(‘This is no stoner song.’) But if the selling of drugs was open and controlled by responsible government agencies, (private selling should still be illegal) the issue would become one of individual choice but in a context of much more education, information, advice and help. Some people like taking drugs and live successful lives. Some people like taking drugs and get into all kinds of difficulties because of it. It does not help though to make these people criminals.

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