COMMENTS:
Another good one, cranky.
by mojo on Fri May 27, 05 2:06pm
[+]
Maybe. But from the perspective of market dynamics, supply and demand, if the U.S. reduced consumption, the supply would slow. With no market, any commodity fails. So, if you favor drug control, you would might do better concentrating on the supply side (an economic theory popular among Republicans which has some limited utility).
Of course, decades of myriad drug control theories and efforts have failed to permanently dent either supply or demand, so I have no faith in drug smuggling or use ending soon.
What we need to do is to legalize the low impact drugs like marijuana, and decriminalize purchases of drugs by addicts and treat them as suffering from an illness, like we do alcoholism. We can see from examples such as tobacco use, which has seen dramatic reduction in use, we need can educate people about the downside of using serious drugs like opiates and speed.
A certain fraction of the population would continue to use drugs, but it would become smaller over time.
However, I point once again (to the leaden ears of our leaders) that our drug policy is contradictory and absurd. Alcohol and tobacco, arguably the most abused and destructive drugs in our country, are legal, and (even though you are bored to tears from hearing this again and again from many bright people of all political stripes)considerably less harmful substances are illegal.
We are spending, according the the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 30K a year keeping people in prison, 70 percent of whom are locked up for drug-related offenses. Is this crazy or what?
And more toward your question, even if Mexico were to suddenly end all exportation of drugs to the U.S., someone would quickly take up the slack.
Silly, stupid, and counterproductive drug polices need to be trashed! The drug war has proven to be expensive in dollars and human lives, and looks unwinable.
Maybe. But from the perspective of market dynamics, supply and demand, if the U.S. reduced consumption, the supply would slow. With no market, any commodity fails. So, if you favor drug control, you would might do better concentrating on the supply side (an economic theory popular among Republicans which has some limited utility).
Of course, decades of myriad drug control theories and efforts have failed to permanently dent either supply or demand, so I have no faith in drug smuggling or use ending soon.
What we need to do is to legalize the low impact drugs like marijuana, and decriminalize purchases of drugs by addicts and treat them as suffering from an illness, like we do alcoholism. We can see from examples such as tobacco use, which has seen dramatic reduction in use, we need can educate people about the downside of using serious drugs like opiates and speed.
A certain fraction of the population would continue to use drugs, but it would become smaller over time.
However, I point once again (to the leaden ears of our leaders) that our drug policy is contradictory and absurd. Alcohol and tobacco, arguably the most abused and destructive drugs in our country, are legal, and (even though you are bored to tears from hearing this again and again from many bright people of all political stripes)considerably less harmful substances are illegal.
We are spending, according the the US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 30K a year keeping people in prison, 70 percent of whom are locked up for drug-related offenses. Is this crazy or what?
And more toward your question, even if Mexico were to suddenly end all exportation of drugs to the U.S., someone would quickly take up the slack.
Silly, stupid, and counterproductive drug polices need to be trashed! The drug war has proven to be expensive in dollars and human lives, and looks unwinable from where I stand.
Good post, Crank.
The "30K per year" figure is for each person in jail.
Solly.
Wow, what a dunderhead I am. Meant to say "concentrating on the demand side" .. Jees.
Too much coffee and cold medication...
Guns are illegal in mexico, but legal in the US. So we shouldn't have to radically change our society to suit them. We should watch the border more and increase security, but we shouldn't outlaw guns to suit the mexicans. Drugs however, are illegal in both countries. That means that the mexican government should be trying to get rid of them just on general principles. They're failing to enforce their laws and rather than address it they choose to browbeat the US for failing to enforce mexican laws.
Zerhog is wrong, again, as well as misinterpreting the information presented.
It's actually a matter of the US not enforcing it's own laws. The guns that are being bought are usually bought for the drug gangs by individuals using fake IDs. Also, individual gun dealers are selling suspiciously large quantities of guns to individuals, but nothing is done. Additionally, in terms of controlling the mutual border, it is hypocritical for the US to demand that Mexico do more about people smuggling drugs into the US, while refusing to take additional action on the smuggling of guns from the US into Mexico. It is illegal to buy guns with fake ID's, then sell them for cash to criminals who are in this country illegally, and it is illegal to smuggle guns across the border. The Bushy Administration, as usual, wants it both ways.
As long as Mexico actively supports it's citizens illegaly comming to the US, issuing pamphlets to help them get across the border, AND recives finacial aid in return for supporting our drug policys, I don't think Mexico has any right NOT to cooperate on drugs. BUT, Bush SHOULD take action if American weapons are getting across the border, anyway. NOT because of Mexicos thoughts on the matter, but because it's the right thing to do.
There's nothing wrong with guns. But Mexico shouldn't be stopping the drugs because they have no right to do so.
I don't know how it is that 90% of the weapons come from America. Do the AK-47's come from America? Do the Uzis come from America?
i am from mexico, i came to the U.S. 3 years ago with I-551(green card{not all mexicans come here illegally})
i just wanna say that this is a real problem there, while i was there i got to see a few m16a1(a15 variant) and u can buy'em(yes, illegally) for even less than 300 pesos which is like $30 dollars, and u could clearly see on the side of the upper reciever the tag and serial number "U.S. government preperty" or something like that
Mexico just did the sensible thing.
Legalizing small amounts of dope for personal consumption.
Already, the sky is falling...
yawwnn
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