Legalize drugs and the cartels will collapse
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 by: Jonathan Benson, staff writer http://www.naturalnews.com/034402_drug_cartels_prohibition_legalization.html#ixzz1gV7hRham
(NaturalNews) Rather than curb their prolific use and propagation around the world, the global “war on drugs” has actually made the drug problem worse. According to the latest statistics, drug use around the world is on the rise in almost every category, despite the numerous anti-drug policies in place to supposedly curb their use. Heightened government crackdowns on drug trafficking in many countries have actually led to more, not less, drug-related gang violence.
Irrespective of where they are enacted, anti-drug policies everywhere have had the unintended consequence of actually leading to more violence and criminal activity, while doing little or nothing to actually lower drug use rates. In other words, enforcing anti-drug policies is a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars that seems to only be making the situation worse rather than better.
Mexico is a perfect example of the failed war on drugs. In 2006, Mexican President Felipe Calderon summoned a military crusade of 50,000 troops to crack down on the nation’s drug cartels, which are a main source of drug flow into the US, one of the world’s largest consumers of illicit drugs. But rather than contain the violence, these new enforcements have resulted in more than 45,000 deaths, as drug gangs have resorted to fighting each other for the best remaining smuggling routes.
In the US, the situation is not much different. While there might be less overall gang violence associated with the drug trade than there is in Mexico, an incredible amount of taxpayer funding is spent on targeting users of marijuana, for instance, which largely pose little or no threat to society. Meanwhile, domestic drug rings profit big time from the high prices they are able to fetch for these drugs on the black market.
Back in June, the Global Commission on Drug Policy published a report highlighting the failures of the global war on drugs. That report called for an end to “the criminalization, marginalization and stigmatization of people who use drugs but do no harm to others.” This is particularly true of the many people who use marijuana for legitimate medicinal purposes, as it is far safer and more effective than many legalized pharmaceutical drugs.
In the end, all the war on drugs has accomplished is to further the success of drug cartels, which are wreaking violence and havoc around the world. If many of the drugs that are restricted today were to become legalized, the drug cartels that currently thrive would quickly collapse, leading to a much safer world for everybody.
Sources for this article include:
http://my.news.yahoo.com/drug-war-failed-across-latin-america-2011-113335984.html
Related articles
- 10 Ways the War on Drugs is a Wild Success (talesfromthelou.wordpress.com)
December 15th, 2011 at 11:07 am
So long as there is prison industry and legislators keep making billions on the drug wars, there is little to no chance of us implementing any kind of sensible drug policy. Right now there is too much money to be made from *fighting* this war for anyone to want to consider ending it.
December 15th, 2011 at 2:34 pm
I agree. Still whether anyone will ever listen the solutions should still be offered and I thought the author of the article made a good case for his arguments. No one will do anything to be sure but one day when they stand before their maker they will have no excuse for not having heard anyone speaking out against the criminal behavior of our legislative and judicial system
December 15th, 2011 at 3:07 pm
[…] Want to end Mexican drug gang violence? (ephraiyim.wordpress.com) […]
December 16th, 2011 at 8:13 am
I didn’t mean to imply solutions shouldn’t be offered; absolutely they should! A message that never gets delivered doesn’t do much good for anyone, does it?
I worked as a volunteer advocate for prisoners’ rights for the last few years – what I learned about our legal system, industry influence and drug war broke my heart. So many lives ruined…for greed and profit. Sad, sad…sad!
December 16th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Please forgive me. I did not mean to insinuate by my reply that you were inferring that solutions should not be offered. The reply was more for the benefit of other readers. I am well aware, from regular reading of your blog, of how involved you are in getting the word out about corruption and criminality within the system.
Again, I am sorry if you took my reply to your comment in any way other than how I had intended it.
December 20th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
[…] Want to end Mexican drug gang violence? (ephraiyim.wordpress.com) […]