Reality Intrudes on the Drug War

realclearpolitics.com ^ | February 15, 2009 | Steve Chapman

[neverdem]

In the story of the emperor with no clothes, it took someone whose observations are rarely heeded -- a child -- to point out the obvious fact that no one else could acknowledge. In the case of drug policy, it takes people who are usually ignored by Washington policymakers -- Latin Americans -- to perform the same invaluable service.

Last week, a commission made up of 17 members, from Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa to Sonia Picado, the Costa Rican who heads the Inter-American Institute on Human Rights, did nothing but admit the truth: The war on drugs is a failure.

"Prohibitionist policies based on the eradication of production and on the disruption of drug flows as well as on the criminalization of consumption have not yielded the expected results," the panel said in a report (http://drugsanddemocracy.org/files/2009/02/declaracao_ingles_site.pdf). "We are farther than ever from the announced goal of eradicating drugs."

The panel was co-chaired by three former heads of state -- Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico, Cesar Gaviria of Colombia and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil, all of whom were once leaders in the crusade. In 1996, Zedillo won attention for escalating the crackdown. But they have learned from experience that the old strategy doesn't work...

--snip--

"The enormous capacity of the narcotics trade for violence and corruption can only be effectively countered if its sources of income are substantially weakened," it argues. Unsaid is that the only way to drastically reduce the profitability of drug production and trafficking is to make them legal -- as we did with liquor after Prohibition.

Most people, here or in Latin America, may not be ready for that remedy. But facing the truth about the drug war is a step toward salvation. If you want to change reality, it helps to abandon your fantasies.

[neverdem]

http://drugsanddemocracy.org/files/2009/02/declaracao_ingles_site.pdf

[neverdem]

Ping

[rottndog]

...did nothing but admit the truth: The war on drugs is a failure.

Here here.

[Lurker]

"The enormous capacity of the narcotics trade for violence and corruption can only be effectively countered if its sources of income are substantially weakened," it argues. Unsaid is that the only way to drastically reduce the profitability of drug production and trafficking is to make them legal -- as we did with liquor after Prohibition.

Duh....

L

[VaBthang4]

***LOSERDOPIAN ALERT***

[randomhero97]

The war on drugs is a failure.

Understatement of the millenium.

[goldstategop]

Considering most of the growers are poor peasants, depriving them of their only livelihood doesn't eliminate drug production. In their place emerge powerful drug cartels that have the resources to produce even more drugs than the peasants once did.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[randomhero97]

You haven’t the slightest clue do you?

[Hacksaw]

The war on drugs is a failure.

Seems to work in Japan.

[Total Package]

Unsaid is that the only way to drastically reduce the profitability of drug production and trafficking is to make them legal

As if this is new we have only known this for what 80 years or so. If we are going to change the nanny state as in big government it starts here.

[cripplecreek]

Seems to me that islamderthal terrorists keep telling us the same thing about the war on terror.

[rellimpank]

-—see post #59—

—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2183514/posts

[antceecee]

Also this in the O.C. Register today:
“Mexicans Die in Our Drug War” Steven Greenhut
http://headlines.ocregister.com/articles/_13648___article.html/_.html

All our fault ....

(sarcasm on)

[SmallGovRepub]

They also recommended legalizing marijuana. For Mexican drug cartels at least, marijuana is their cash cow. Consider that according to the ONDCP Mexican cartels bringing in about $13.8 billion a year selling Americans drugs, $8.6 billion from marijuana alone. That's about 62% of their their gross proceeds from drug sales to Americans. The second most popular drug is cocaine and the Mexicans are only middle men for that. The ONDCP estimates that the cartels bring in about $3.9 billion a year from cocaine, about a billion from meth, and around $370 million from heroin.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022208dnintdrugs.3a98bb0.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2008-02-21-2221217072_x.htm

According to the USDOJ’s National Drug Threat Assessment for 2009 these Mexican drug trafficking organizations produced 15,500 metric tons of marijuana in 2007, with most of it coming here. The last government estimate I saw on total supply here was that between 12,000 and 25,000 metric tons are available on the market in a given year. It is probable that most of the marijuana on the market in the US comes from Mexico.

2009 National Drug Threat Assessment:
http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs31/31379/marijuan.htm#Top

I were to legalize and regulate the production and sales of marijuana similar to the way we regulate alcohol we would deprive these cartels of most of their income and make them much smaller and much less of a threat. We'd also make it harder for them to sell their other more dangerous drugs here. Americans consume more marijuana than all other illegal drugs combined. All the drugs from Mexico are coming in the same way and moving through the same channels, but down toward the bottom of the distribution line the distribution networks really fan out. The people selling to consumers and selling to those who sell to consumers are mostly dealing in marijuana, but a lot of them will deal in the other drugs as well. If they want to sell some cocaine or meth all they have to do is go to their pot suppliers who can help them get it from up the line. If the people up the line want to move more cocaine or whatever, lose some dealers down the line because of arrests, all they have to do is hit up pot dealers down the line and they'll be able to find people to move their other drugs. If we take the marijuana industry from them they'll lose this and it will be harder for them to move the hard stuff to end consumers. They'll lose most of their income and have a harder time moving the hard stuff. We should have done this a long time ago.

[SmallGovRepub]

The last paragraph should start with “If we were to legalize and regulate....”

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

You’ve hit the nail directly on it’s head!

[fr_freak]

[If we] were to legalize and regulate the production and sales of marijuana similar to the way we regulate alcohol we would deprive these cartels of most of their income and make them much smaller and much less of a threat. We'd also make it harder for them to sell their other more dangerous drugs here.

In addition, there are actually quite a few American "home growers". Legalization would make it possible for the larger of these to sell their product. It could be a fairly good growth industry in a time when we need new ways to shore up our economy.

[SmallGovRepub]

“Legalization would make it possible for the larger of these to sell their product.”

Or they could go to work for large farms that grow it. My guess is that it would be produced on large farms like other crops. We'd have people employed on farms. We'd probably have some sort of distributors that would employ people, along with the licensed shops. We'd have people employed by agencies who regulate the industry. All of these people, likely hundreds of thousands of people, would be paying taxes and the product itself would be taxed with sales taxes and excises like we see with tobacco and alcohol.

[wardaddy]

Legalizing pot like kali or BC have done would be nice

[neutronsgalore]

Or they could go to work for large farms that grow it. My guess is that it would be produced on large farms like other crops. We'd have people employed on farms. We'd probably have some sort of distributors that would employ people, along with the licensed shops. We'd have people employed by agencies who regulate the industry. All of these people, likely hundreds of thousands of people, would be paying taxes and the product itself would be taxed with sales taxes and excises like we see with tobacco and alcohol.

The problem I see with legalization, rather than just simple decrimminalization, is that govt already profits too much from alcohol and tobacco addicts. Govt should not be profiting from addiction. Plus, when you tax/regulate anything you drive up it's cost, and though you've eliminated a lot of the Mexican, Central/South American, & Asian cartel profits you will still make it more profitable through that taxation & regulation to smuggle in overseas drugs. Then what you end up with is the same drug war crap, except it's going towards tax & regulation enforcement.

Plus, we need to get the US/State/Local govts out of catching drug/alcohol/tobacco addicts when they fall. They need to be held accountable for the health and/or legal consequences of their addictions, or for those occasional users, the inappropriately timed use of their poison. Insurance companies should not have to pay for damages/medical-care for those who damaged property or injured themselves through drug/alcohol/tobacco abuse. Remove their bankruptcy protections and let hospitals and innocent victims seize all assets of idiots who can't handle the crap.