Strategies for Mexico's Drug War...Today's LA Times...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

Finally, someone in a position to know, has got it right:

Terry Nelson

Federal agent for 30 years with the U.S. Border Patrol, the Customs Service and the Department of Homeland Security


Busting top traffickers doesn't work, since others just do battle to replace them. Despite the obvious failure of our drug control strategy, the public discourse surrounding this issue has focused primarily on continuing to wage the "drug war."

Mandatory prison sentences and interdiction efforts have very little effect on drug use. This year the World Health Organization found that the U.S. has the highest marijuana and cocaine use rates on the planet, despite having some of the harshest sentences.

We won't be able to expand treatment and prevention efforts until we stop spending so much money enforcing ineffective penalties, building new prisons and buying fancy cars and helicopters for law enforcement agencies. As we begin to treat problematic drug use as a public health issue, it will become much easier to prevent the death, disease and addiction that have expanded under the criminal justice mentality of prohibition.

But even with the best public health efforts, there will always be some who want to use drugs, and, as long as drugs are illegal, many willing to risk imprisonment or death to make huge profits supplying them. My years of experience as a federal agent tell me that legalizing and effectively regulating drugs will stop drug market crime and violence by putting major cartels and gangs out of business.

The Department of Justice reported that Mexican cartels are America's "greatest organized crime threat" because they "control drug distribution in most U.S. cities." If what we've been doing worked at all, we wouldn't be battling Mexican drug dealers in our own cities or anywhere else. There's one surefire way to bankrupt them, but when will our leaders talk about it?

[Warpy]

1. When our leaders can't count on frightened suburban

mommies and daddies to vote them into office on their pledge to continue this useless war against human desire, maybe we'll get them to stop talking tommyrot and start talking sense.

Until then, paranoid parents who think all youthful experimentation with dope turns into addiction will continue to want politicians to fund this exercise in utter futility and our cities will get more and more violent.

And so will those in Mexico until the Mexicans have had enough of US problems and tell the DEA to go fuck themselves and legalize it south of the border. Remember, for every death on US streets, there are probably 10 in Mexican cities and the ones down there are far more grisly.

There is nothing quite so futile as to try to legislate against sin. There is no oxymoron out there quite as ridiculous as "victimless crime."

I don't know what will get through to frightened people. Fear makes them uncommonly stupid and they will continue to act out of fear and support this nonsense in perpetuity.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Perhaps if frightened people see what's happening in Mexico...

And they can be brought to understand that the violence there could happen here...

Then maybe they might see that legalizing drugs, and stopping this useless war, could work.

This could be hastened if Mexico legalizes drugs first.

Time will tell.

We need to return to rational thought...Could it happen?

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. mexico tried at the end of the Fox years

but they were pressured NOT to pass the legislation that would start the road to full legalization

So what do we have now? The war I saw in the beginning has flourished into a full civll war and Mexico is this close to a failed state

Did I mention the pattern I saw back then is starting in the US as well? So in fifteen years this war will fully flourish in our streets too

I've been arguing for full legalization for over ten years now, because of the violence that prohibition brings

[bertman]

13. There are a lot of suburban moms and dads who are worried, but I think that's

a secondary reason. Lots of those moms and dads have "experimented" themselves and know the government line is b.s.

It's the right-wing, prison-incarceration/law-enforcement/surveillance-equipment/police-state lobby that is preventing sanity on this issue.

Lots of people getting very very wealthy off of those fascist/police state contracts and they don't want to lose control, so they donate loads of money and spend lots of lobbying time explaining to our Congresspeople how important a drug war on Americans is.

Follow the money.

[bemildred]

2. This all sounds so 1930s.

End drug prohibition. Drugs abuse is a medical problem, a social services problem, not a criminal justice problem. It was stupid back then, it's still stupid now.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. Exactly right.

[leftstreet]

6. K&R

Do you have an online link? I went to the LA Times site but couldn't find it. I'd like to be able to send this to others.

Excellent!
Thanks for posting.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. Here's the link...

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-drugwarsolution30-2008dec30,0,2370913.story

This takes you to page one...

My little clip is from page two...Several folks were interviewed about this problem, and the clip I posted seemed like the most rational.

Thank you for your kind comments!

[leftstreet]

8. Thanks! Those are interesting comments

:hi:

I also like this snip, from the film director:

The economic and gun power of the cartels has corrupted the entire Mexican country. Like humidity, it has permeated every level, and the economic benefits of it are so strong that it has become a national income. The war is lost. To legalize drugs would bring another set of problems, but at least those will be more transparent.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. They are interesting!

I liked that comment too, but I felt that the one I posted was more coherent, more rational than the rest...

And plus, the fact that he was in the various appropriate agencies I felt made him more credible to our eyes.

You're welcome!

:hi:

[Lionel Mandrake]

10. K & R nt

[CaliforniaPeggy]

16. Thank you, my dear Lionel Mandrake!

It's greatly appreciated...

[cbc5g]

11. legalization is the only answer

continuing the drug war continues the slaughter on the border

[CaliforniaPeggy]

12. I agree...

Eventually the war would spread into the country as a whole, to disastrous ends.

[QueenOfCalifornia]

14. Hey Peggy

I wish you had posted a link-ee-dinky-doo.

I guess I can find it with my Google.

Oh... and I agree. :hi:

[CaliforniaPeggy]

15. My dear Gilligan!

Check post #7!

I didn't originally give a link since I posted the whole article...

I am a bad girl...*hangs head in shame*

Hey, Gilligan!:hug:

[babylonsister]

17. Rec'd. Something's gotta give. There are way too many

people dying in MX due to drug lords, and lots and lots of people being kidnapped, too, then disappearing into the ether. Very scary times down there.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

19. Yes, something has to give, all right...

Right now, it looks like civilization is what's going under...

It looks so damn chaotic.

Where are the adults?

[Road Scholar]

18. K & R nt

:kick:

[Dystopian]

20. KandR. Thank you, Peggy, great post!

peace~

[Oldenuff]

21. Well done..

but it has been stated over and over that the drug war is a huge bust...But there are still those who profit greatly by it.


Do you suppose that our government turns a blind eye to what is happening in Mexico,because the only ones losing their lives are Mexicans?Would it be different if they were Americans,and the outcry from the populace would force them to deal with this topic?

I know what to do...lets just keep forking tons and tons of cash to the Mexicans (colombians etc).Never mind that it is a waste of money,our government needs to look tough on drugs.Never mind that it should be a personal choice anyway.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

22. Thank you...

As long as there is money to be made, the folks in charge will make it. I'm really not sure what would cause our government to truly engage this problem, and look for honest solutions.

[WinstonSmith4740]

23. Really?

All I can really say here is "Well, duh." We've only been saying this for at least 30 years. What's really a shame about this is the whole marijuana hysteria grew out of the 30's. The Marijuana Stamp and Tax Act was bad law based on bad science and fueled by bad politics. In fact, it was SO badly written, the Supreme Court found it to be unconstitutional in 1968. Unfortunately, the bozos in charge then AGAIN acted out of hysteria and gave us our current laws. Our current "leaders" don't have either the cajones OR the ovaries (with the exception of Barney Frank and a few others) to stand up and say it.

This guy has either retired, or will soon be out of a job for telling the truth.:smoke: