text: Good editorial,  essentially saying, "let's learn from the past."  Thanks for that.  
  
  "Tax to legalize, don't legalize to tax."
   Like illegal pot, Liquor Prohibition in western Canada had been a costly, embarrassing nightmare.  The real reason for it (not temperance, but WW I guilt and grief) was no longer was a factor. In B.C., people just wanted to drink--even women, who voted "wet" in large numbers and especially returning vets--potentially dangerous, it needed to be "controlled."  In B.C.,  finance civil servants did the math.  B.C.'s liquor store "windfall" tipped it. The prairies saw it--and tipped.
  
  Let's learn what happened AFTER provinces went "wet."  Did bootlegging stop?  No.  Bootleggers were a phone call away, 24/7.  Many delivered to the door. Good liquor cost much more than hootch from a hillside still. Quality didn't matter so much. Cost and convenience did.  It took years to build enough liquor stores, all of which closed at 5pm and on Sundays.  Get the lesson?