Changing Direction in the Drug War

North Star Writers Group ^ | Feb 12, 2009 | Llewellyn King

[sweet_diane]

"Mexico is being torn apart by drug gangs, often wrongly called cartels. Cartels are created to uphold prices. In the case of Mexico, it is law enforcement and the prohibition of drugs that upholds prices – and makes drug dealing irresistibly profitable."

...

"Stabilized, taxed and supervised marijuana would be an advance on today's hodge podge of tolerance and intolerance. Federal law is intolerant and state law can be quite lenient. Some states tolerate personal use but cultivation is frowned on. This prohibition is expensive, ineffective and contributes to the woes in Mexico."

[sweet_diane]

Found this article interesting.

[KoRn]

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[Daveinyork]

Brace yourself for the onslaught from the big government “conservatives”.

[SmallGovRepub]

One other thing about marijuana is the cash cow for Mexican drug trafficking organizations. The ONDCP estimates that the Mexican cartels bring in about $13.8 billion from illegal drugs, about $8.6 billion of that, about 62% of gross proceeds, from marijuana alone. The last “Drug Threat Assessment” from the USDOJ said that it is estimated that Mexican drug trafficking organizations produced 15,500 metric tons of marijuana in 2007 and most of that was smuggled into this country. Our government estimates that somewhere between 12,000 and 25,000 metric tons of marijuana are available in this country in a given year. A fair amount is grown here, some comes in from Canada, and a little bit comes in from other sources. Most is probably coming from Mexico though. If we want to strike a devastating blow at Mexican organized crime, we'll legalize and regulate the production and sales of marijuana. That would deprive them of most of their income, and it will screw up their distribution networks because the biggest part of them exist to supply marijuana, the drug used more than all other illegal drugs combined. Most of the other stuff just piggybacks in on top of the marijuana.

[MichiganConservative]

The war on drugs has only brought about destruction of civil rights and a militarization of police. Ending it would be good. I don’t even believe alcohol and cigarettes should be taxed as they are.

[sweet_diane]

"Brace yourself for the onslaught from the big government “conservatives”."

I know...tho sometimes the hypocrisy is just so darned entertaining to watch. lol

[sweet_diane]

Makes sense.

[sweet_diane]

I agree..the WOD has done little good.

[SmallGovRepub]

Thanks. I didn't really explain how this would damage the distribution networks very well though. If we legalized marijuana the distribution networks would still exist. They would really be hurt that much at the higher levels. It's toward the end of the distribution chains that they'll be hurt the most. That's where distribution fans out. Far fewer people use drugs like cocaine and meth, so there are far fewer people selling the drugs to consumers and selling these drugs to the people who sell to consumers. At that level most of the people involved are only selling marijuana. But the marijuana is all coming to them from the same sources that are also bringing in the far more dangerous and destructive drugs. If the people down the line selling marijuana want something like cocaine to sell as well, all they have to do is ask their marijuana suppliers. If the people up the line want to get more of their cocaine and meth out, they have plenty of marijuana sellers they do business with they can hit up to sell their other drugs. When we take the marijuana business away from them all these marijuana sellers at the bottom end of the line will be gone and it will be harder for those up the line to move the hard stuff. This hurts them and it's good for us. Less of the hard stuff will be getting out and it will be easier for us to pinpoint and contain sources for those drugs.

[corkoman]

Thanks for the post. Unfortunately the writer gets 2 paragraphs in and loses his way. Can anyone suggest the damages done by the violent black marketeers comes anywheres close to the damages done by the actual drug use?

Chronic opiate use imparts no physiological damage other than constipation.i.e., cancer, heart disease etc. Surely there is a serious safety issue when using opiates as they can suppress respiration and street vendors are not known for their quality-control efforts.

In a society where we have abandoned our health responsibilities to the State we no longer have the freedom to exercise our freedom to use whatever tools we choose for the task at hand.

Opiates like all drugs are tools and if you take the time to learn how to use the tool you can get good use of it. Unfortunately we live in a society where we have demonized naughty vegetables.

[SmallGovRepub]

Whoops. Where I said, “They would really be hurt that much at the higher levels,” I meant “wouldn’t really be hurt..”

[sweet_diane]

"They wouldn't[sic] really be hurt that much at the higher levels."

And I'm all for the gov't dealing with those folks 'at the higher level'.. just not the marijuana dealer who only sells to other 40 somethings that have as much to lose as he does. A little legislation and that marijuana dealer becomes an enterprising entrepreneur following similar regulations as a restaurant/bar/vegetable stand. While legally supporting his family, paying taxes and contributing to his community.

I am not as familiar with natually produced opiates and cocaine and the laws that apply to them. Some lump them in with marijuana, yet I'm not informed enough to come to a conclusion. I do believe there is a special place in hell for meth makers and dealers .. and an even hotter hell for anyone who sells anything to minors.

[sweet_diane]

"Can anyone suggest the damages done by the violent black marketeers comes anywheres close to the damages done by the actual drug use?"

There are those who feel the loss of personal liberties and freedoms are right up there, damage wise. The kid whose family desolves over the use/abuse of illegal OR legal drugs has an entirely different take on the matter.

Wrong is wrong. Breaking the law is wrong, yet there are times when the law itself may be wrong.

When I read articles like Marijuana Vs Anti-Depressants for PTSD Marijuana Wins Hands Down I'm even more convinced that we (society) need to open our eyes, pharma companies be damned.

[Free Descendant]

I think we should legalize goofballs but have the death penalty for reefers and also for using your rear view mirror to check your hair or apply make up.

[sweet_diane]

"I don’t even believe alcohol and cigarettes should be taxed as they are."

Ah, but then how would we fund medicaid/medicare?? lol

[Free Descendant]

I think we should have the death penalty for anyone who applies for medicaid/medicare. I also think we should legalize tax evasion.

[CIDKauf]

“Stabilized, taxed and supervised marijuana would be an advance on today’s hodge podge of tolerance and intolerance”

What happens when a “stoned” driver kills a family or a child and there is no real way to prove he’s stoned?

[sweet_diane]

How do you prove that someone is intoxicated on alcohol? You test and document.

I'll have to research because it has been a while since I read about it, but there is a way to test ones marijuana intoxication level. The kind they use for employment etc are useless in that regard.

[CIDKauf]

I am pretty sure there is no difinitive method acceptable in court, which means it would be necessary to develop a method to avoid this problem.

[sweet_diane]

Like I said, I need to do my research. Let me just say tho, just because “there is no definitive method acceptable in court” does not mean there is no definitive method. The court is happy with the “have you ingested marijuana in the last two months" method.