There are problems on both sides of the border. Here in the US, we have untreated addictions dealt with through a deeply flawed criminal justice system. Those who wind up in jail simply have the least means to defend themselves in court. How many cocaine sniffing professionals do any hard time? There are also vested interests in keeping the unwinable war on drugs going. The DEA would likely no longer exist if we decriminalized drugs. What would happen to funding to the Coast Guard, Department of Homeland Security, (you can blush, George Orwell) and even the military? That’s a lot of well paid federal employees out of work who do not want to join the ranks of the unemployed! Last there is the problem of apathy here in the USA. Who cares about the carnage in Mexico as long as it stays there? So what if they are corrupt to the core? What is it to us if the highways are like a real life Mad Max Movie? Murder will not apply for a green card. People are already being killed on this side of the border. In Mexico there is rampant corruption, poverty and a growing sense of hopelessness. Looking at illegal drugs through a class lens shows how unfair laws and enforcement are applied to our poor. How many doctors using cocaine got three strikes? The large banks that assist with the money laundering process are never even mentioned much less face any penalty. Prison or jail time for a bank executive is currently out of the question.
There’s no end in sight. How much will the so-called War on Drugs have to cost us before we realize it is not working? We pretty much know it but is there a single politician in Washington with the courage to say so? Anyone? Even if there is, in the current political climate, change we can believe in (for real) is far off. What we are seeing is social collapse- Mexican narco-state style. A complete breakdown of society from the national government to the street is taking place in far too many parts of Mexico. People's most basic needs of safety and security are not being met. The unwelcoming US with its ailing economy looks a whole lot better than being caught between waring cartels.
What are some alternatives? Legalization and demilitarization sound impossible given our current state of affairs in Washington DC. I think this is exactly what it will really take to slow the violence and recover our fellow human beings lost to drug addiction. The military (any military) is a poor law enforcement tool even for needed laws. The power balance is too great in favor of the army and accountability flies out the window. How could legalization and demilitarization occur? I think it would have to be a gradual process like what is going on with pot now. If we made drug addiction a medical problem, countless lives could be saved. It is better for society, I believe, to redeem an addict and not simply try to lock him up. The on going drug wars in Mexico are not their only problem. There is a small group of very wealthy running a country of dirt poor. This is a great recipe for worsening conflict drug wars or not.
What are some other good ideas and how can we impliment them?
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