In the mob's infancy, bootlegging was the primary racket. Alcohol is "drugs", and it was illegal then, which made it an illegal drug, just like cocaine or heroin. Exchange booze with the drugs of modern day and you have your parallels between the mob and the cartels.
"...the successful annihilation of organized crime's subculture in America would rock the 'legitimate' world's foundation, which would ultimately force fundamental social changes and redistributions of wealth and power in this country. Meyer Lansky's dream was to bond the two worlds together so that one could not survive without the other." - Dan E. Moldea
