U.S.-Mexico 'war on drugs' a failure

[Oldenuff]

Last week during the day, some kids in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, were playing soccer in a park when a car slowed down, guys got out and executed a 13-year-old boy. And then they drove away, unmolested in a city with 11,000 army and police officers.

The Mexican government repeatedly states that 90 percent of the deaths in the current drug war are of people who are dirty; that is, criminals involved in the drug business. The killings of reporters and of innocent women, men and children continually belie that statement.
<snip>
The effects wrought by NAFTA launched one of the largest human migrations in the world as poor Mexicans fled collapsing industry and agriculture. Border Patrol statistics show that the number of Mexicans entering the U.S. illegally skyrocketed within two years of the passage of NAFTA.

We also never question our four-decades-old War on Drugs, which has produced cheaper drugs of higher quality at lower prices in thousands of U.S. cities and towns. It has helped create one of the largest prison populations in the world. If our drug policy were a ship, it would be called the Titanic.

Anyone who questions the propaganda of the U.S. government on the violence in Mexico, on our War on Drugs or on our free trade agreement is told to come up with a solution, some silver bullet that instantly slays the dragon. But our policies over the decades have created a disaster, and it will take years to reverse the damage these acts of government have inflicted.

The time to start is now. Let's address the true and lethal nature of Mexico's war on drugs -- one we are in part bankrolling under the Merida Initiative to the tune of half a billion dollars per year, often tossed into the murderous hands of many in the Mexican army.

We need to have a public discussion of the obvious: Legalize drugs or keep caging Americans for taking drugs -- unless of course they are booze, tobacco or happy pills from the doctor -- and keep financing the murders of Mexicans.



The rest of the article at source: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/03/31/bowden.ciudad.juarez.cartels/index.html

All the while President Obama has stated that Cannabis legalization is a "non starter"...so much for looking at things realistically.

[Gman]

1. Legalizing Cannabis right now is the worst thing that we could do

You'll have the Mexico drug cartels farming it and all that that implies. I live in South Texas and that's one of the few things that scares me right now.

[Oldenuff]

2. If I'm not mistaken

They are farming it already,and have been for years (on both sides of the border).Maybe I couldn't understand your reply,but how does maintaining the War on Drugs help in any way..except the money down a rat hole thing?

The whole thing is an exercise in futility,and no country can exercise futility like the US.

[Gman]

16. I'm talking corn and cotton fields that would converted to marijuana

cultivation. I'm not talking the little acre or two patches hidden somewhere. I'm talking large scale farm production run by the drug cartels. I don't like that idea at all living here in S Texas.

[Greyhound]

3. Possibly the least insightful reply I've read here.

You would have us believe that legalizing a plant that grows on four continents, under nearly any conditions, that is already ubiquitous, would if legalized retain it's value, and therefore profitability, to cartels growing it and bringing it over an international border, when local supplies are both far larger and much less expensive (not to mention much higher quality).
:crazy:

Edit; And I stay in AZ so I know your BS is BS.

[Gman]

17. I don't know how much you can grow in AZ in the desert

but here in S Texas we have farmland that goes to the horizon. I'd much rather even big corporate farming than drug cartels planting their crops.

[Greyhound]

19. As much as we care to put water on. It's a weed, growing it is not the problem,

stopping from taking over all the available land.

The reason your fear is erroneous is that if it were legal it would be almost worthless so there is no motivation for any cartels to grow, process, and smuggle it over the border.

Unlawful weed fetches $400 - $1600 p/lb.

Legal weed would probably settle @ ~$10 - $50 p/lb. because it is easy to grow and grows anywhere.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

4. That's why we need to outlaw potatoes, corn, and tomatoes right away.

If those Mexican drug dealers find out it's legal to grow them, we'll be screwed.

[WolverineDG]

7. Pay no attention to the nay-sayers

they're not on the front lines of the cartel wars & haven't been woken up in the middle of the night to the sounds of every vehicle with a siren heading to guard the international bridges while the cartels set off explosions in Mexico that shake the windows of homes in the US & carry out gun battles that can be heard across the river.

dg

[girl gone mad]

8. Prohibition is the cause of, not the solution to..

these battles.

[WolverineDG]

14. Wow, so when the Zetas invade my neighborhood, I'll tell them that so they don't shoot me

:eyes:

dg

[Flaneur]

15. Let us know when that happens, will you?

[Gman]

18. But I've heard rapid fire gunshots a few blocks away from the Farifield Inn in Weslaco

[Bluenorthwest]

9. You are wildly misinformed.

The cartels farm it now, because of the high black market price, and they grow it here on public land. One of the best reasons for legalization is to stop the very farming you claim to be concerned about. It is a huge, current, environmentally destructive problem that is created by the prohibition of marijuana.
I'd love to hear your reasoning. You think criminal cartels are waiting to set up legal farms? You think they don't do it now, because it is illegal, although they are criminals? Are they currently in the corn or wheat business, due to the legality of those plants?

[Echo In Light]

11. Wrong on so many counts I won't take the time to spell em all out

[spanone]

13. bullshit. look at prohibition. legalization put the mob out of the booze biz immediately

[JonLP24]

20. You can't farm it here?

The "Emerald Triangle" is the biggest cannabis producer in the US so why can't we buy from them? In fact they and I imagine the cartels are against legalization because it would hurt their business. I'm sure you could farm it in virtually every state as well.

Also with the cartels most of the violence stems from the fact that it's illegal. If business is good everything is fine, if people start going to jail, getting their drugs seized, etc. That's when the violence begins to happen.

[Roon]

21. No one smokes that mexican shit anymore

Most of our weed is domestically grown today. Give it up.

[eShirl]

22. Prohibition creates criminals. Legalization takes the insane profit margins away from them.

[Jkid]

5. The US Government will not do any real change to the War on Drugs

...unless someone gets killed by the Drug Cartels on American soil.

Even then they'll still keep jailing people for drug possession because it's JUST TOO DAMN PROFITABLE.

[harry_pothead]

6. War on drugs a failure?

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Yeah, Obama' s entire 'pragmatic' act goes out the window

when it comes to this. He becomes all slogans and anti science blather. Anything to keep the jails filled with minority prisoners, and the coffers of the dealers filled to the brim. His policy is hypocritical as hell, because he himself 'used to' smoke pot, and he says he snorted as much cocaine as he could afford to buy as well. But others who do so, they should be locked up, not elected President.

[MadHound]

12. We need to end this failure of a war,

Legalize all drugs, control the manufacture and distribution, and tax them. Anything else spells disaster for millions of people.