More Mexican Bloodshed

It is now more dangerous to live in Mexico than it is in Afghanistan, and with this most recent news of mutilated bodies being uncovered this fact comes as no surprise. The number of these atrocities and the brutal manner in which they are carried out should serve as a gruesome warning that America is not properly addressing the drug war in the correct manner.How many Mexicans need to die before we decide to end this losing war on drugs? I'm afraid that this number is astronomical. I'm also afraid that it will take the discovery of decapitated American bodies to entice our government to start to pursue these cartels in an aggressive manner. Below I have included a link to a story about another 49 beheaded and dismembered bodies being uncovered in Mexico due to drug cartel violence. It doesn't take a war to help quell the violence in Mexico, but rather a stroke of the pen to pass legislation that will take marijuana off of the black market.

Marijuana Can’t Even be Kept Out of Our Prisons!

If any of you have ever watched an episode of “Locked Up” on MSNBC then you have probably seen how prisoners are often able to obtain some sort of drug even though they are confined in top security prisons. For those of you who haven’t seen it “Locked Up” is a show that reveals the daily lives of prisoners in the country’s most infamous prisons. In a lot of these episodes prisoners are interviewed about their experience with drugs in prison. Whether it’s homemade alcohol, marijuana, or heroin these inmates in every prison are able to acquire some sort of illegal intoxicant. How can anyone claim that we are making any significant progress in the drug war when our most secure correctional institutions, which are locked down 24/7 by law enforcement professionals, can’t even keep drugs out of the facility? If an environment such as this is porous enough to allow drugs and money to flow in and out regularly, then how do we expect to keep it out of the country entirely? This should be a major indicator that our current strategy is fleeting.

                No amount of law enforcement personnel and resources will ever be enough to stop the illegal drug trade. All the money that we pour into the drug war each year isn’t even enough to slow it down any significant amount. The proof of this is seen in the ever escalating violence south of the border. Many prohibition supporters argue that if we built a fence covering the entire length of the boarder and line the fence with National Guard and border patrol agents that this would be enough to stop the drug trade along with illegal immigration. First of all this idea is unrealistic, but for the sake of the argument let’s assume that this could be possible. This would slow down the amount of traffic that attempts to cross holes along the physical border such as people climbing over fences and cutting holes in the chain link; however, this would not stop the tunnels that are built under the fence nor would it stop drug traffic that travels by water. The cartels possess simple yet sophisticated semi submersible water vessels and submarines, and with so much man power focused on the border we would be left vulnerable to sea trafficking. This wouldn’t hinder the drug traffic that travels through the air in small aircraft either. Building a fence and lining it with troops does close a door but it also inadvertently opens many others for exploitation.

                We don’t have to build a large fence spanning the border or throw more money into the war on drugs every year to realize that more law enforcement is not a viable solution to illegal drug trafficking. We can see the ineffectiveness of this approach when we look at our prisons. These institutions which are locked down by guards, bars, locks, fences, security cameras, and razor wire do a good job of keeping inmates inside its walls but still cannot keep drugs from entering inside them. The best solution is not more guns and guards but more rights!          

Drug Crazy

If you haven’t read this book yet I highly recommended you pick it up as soon as possible. The book is entitled “Drug Crazy How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out” by Mike Gray. This book discusses all the arguments for prohibition and dispels them. Many of the issues addressed in this book are the same issues I have discussed on my blog. This book can be very eye opening whether you are new to the anti prohibition movement or a seasoned veteran. Everyone who reads this book will benefit from it. Keep educating yourselves on the subject and don’t allow years of propaganda blind you from the facts.     

Mexican Cartels Target Children

Whoever argued that children would be put in more danger if marijuana was legal neglected to notice this. It has now been discovered that drug cartels are recruiting kids to help smuggle and move drugs. This is nothing really new but it’s gaining more national attention now than ever. I have been saying this all along; legitimate businesses will not sell your kids marijuana or involve them with the plant in any way. Gangs are always going to target your kids, so let’s put them out of business by making marijuana legal. The whole story can be found at the link below.

http://news.yahoo.com/mexican-drug-cartels-recruiting-texas-children-173402030.html 

The ATF's Fast and Furious Blunder

If we needed any more evidence that the war on drugs is a losing war, the ATF has alleviated any doubt we might have had resting in the back of our minds. If you are unfamiliar with what took place just Google “ATF fast and furious” and I challenge you not to become absolutely disgusted.  Where do I start with this one? Should I begin with how we are fighting the cartels the wrong way, treating them more like a gang when they behave more like a small army? Or should it be that we are targeting their weapons instead of their money or product which they use to fund the purchase these arms? Anyway you look at it you can’t deny that if we keep fighting the war on drugs the same way we have been for the past thirty years, then we aren’t going to make any progress. It’s time for a new strategy, one that gives more rights to the citizens of the United States while more effectively combats the cartels.

                This type of operation is not uncommon for the ATF or any other government or local law enforcement agency. There are many examples of how this strategy has worked to combat gangs in America. There is just one problem when using this strategy to combat the cartels. The cartels are not gangs they are small armies. Make no mistake about it these cartels behave more like an oppressive army than a gang. Just think about it for a minute, what gang do you know of carries out professional hits on government officials? What gang is responsible for so many mass graves like the ones found in Mexico? What gang uses grenades and other explosives in military style ambushes? This is unlike any gang in America which law enforcement is so used to combating. How can we expect our law enforcement to fight something that they have never seen the likes of before? The truth of the matter is we can’t, so we need to find a different and more effective way to address this problem.

We need to change our strategy when it comes to fighting the Mexican cartels. One of the simplest things we can do is to get marijuana legal. If marijuana was completely taken away from the cartels then that would have a significant impact on their operations. All at once they would have less money to work with and would become weaker than any gun or drug bust could ever leave them. Instead of focusing on guns we would focus on taking away their money. Money that, let’s face it, they can use to buy guns anywhere. We would focus on the root of the problem instead of the surface which is the violence that we are so used to seeing on the news. The cartels cannot function without money like any other organization so let’s hit them where it hurts most.

 We could fight the cartels’ gun trade forever if we wanted to. As long as they continue to sell drugs and make money they will always be able to buy more guns. No gun bust however big will ever be enough to effectively end the cartels’ operations, but if we go after their product and take it away from them then we have a chance. There is no simpler or more effective way to accomplish this than to decriminalize marijuana.