Posted on 03/25/2009 1:29:37 PM PDT by yoe
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived here Wednesday with the clearest acknowledgment yet from a senior Obama administration official of the role the United States plays in the violent drug trade racking Mexico.
“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” she said, using unusually blunt language. “Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians.”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
“This story will undoubtedly be used by the Hussein administration—not that they didn’t create it in the first place—to argue for: 1.New gun-grabbing legislation, 2.yet another look at legalizing drug use in the US. Wouldn’t surprise me a bit.”
Already been done. This will be the official mantra...scare the public about Mexico enough to register guns. A couple weeks ago the first was Eleanor Clift. Wes Clark, CBS news and others of the left have been harping on the gun angle.
[snip]“It is unacceptable to have 90 percent of the guns that are picked up in Mexico and used to shoot judges, police officers, mayors, kidnap innocent people and do terrible things come from the United States,” Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said at a hearing Tuesday. “I am appalled that you can buy a 50-caliber sniper weapon anywhere and it’s not restricted to a federal firearms dealer - you can just buy it.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2208636/posts?page=15#15
These people all talk like there are no addicts south of the Rio Grande, and America is the only place you can buy weapons.
You seriously think legalizing marijuana will strip them of revenue? No, it won't. They'll continue on to produce ecstasy or new drugs, just like the Netherlands (the largest producer and exporter of ecstasy in the world) the country you keep bringing up in this weak argument. Apparently you don't remember carrying on this same dead-end argument a couple of weeks ago. I wonder why? LOL!! Go look back in your retreads. If they had gone after the crooks in Prohibition, we wouldn't have Teddy K. doing so much damage to the US today.
prohibition will never succeed. we can build a wall 40 feet high surrounding the entire nation, mine all coastal waterways, and have armed soldiers manning ever inch of the border, and put any and every user into concentration camps, and still the flow of drugs will not stop.
Putting a legal framework for responsible adults to alter their consciousnesses in the privacy of their own homes is the only way we can stop the violence at our border and throughout the world that coincides with the illegal drug trade.
“These criminals are outgunning the law enforcement officials.”
MAN, I sure would like to know where I can get some of those OTC grenades and grenade launchers as well as some of those antitank rockets. I just can't seem to find any at any of the local gun shops. /extreme sarcasm
Mexican drug gangs' weaponry fit for war
Traffickers have escalated their arms race, acquiring military-grade weapons, including hand grenades, grenade launchers, armor-piercing munitions and antitank rockets.
She must think people are stupid...or gullible.
Actually, it does negate what you said. No company is going to claim that a product which accounts for 2/3 of their revenue is at the bottom of the food chain.
It's there because it is cheap and easy to produce and sell at ridiculous profits to brainless idiots.
You are correct, to the tune of about $8.6B, according to the ONDCP.
Why should they climb to the next link?
DUH! They already have. Who do you think moves the cocaine and meth into this country?
“prohibition will never succeed. we can build a wall 40 feet high surrounding the entire nation, mine all coastal waterways, and have armed soldiers manning ever inch of the border, and put any and every user into concentration camps, and still the flow of drugs will not stop.
Putting a legal framework for responsible adults to alter their consciousnesses in the privacy of their own homes is the only way we can stop the violence at our border and throughout the world that coincides with the illegal drug trade.”
It’s not all about drugs. Human smuggling, kidnapping (over 300 in Phoenix alone last year) is big money. Shall we also legalize slavery? I do agree to a point, the illegality of drugs does attract the criminal elements. As for weed, might as well legalize that at least to get the Mexican cartels out of our national parks and forests growing on thousands of acres.
You obviously don’t understand what I mean by “bottom of the food chain”. Easy to make, easy to sell, easy profit. Like a school of minnows to a shark, see? I will refrain from using confusing terms in the future.
No. They would continue to make whatever they could from cocaine and heroin smuggling and such, but they would lose their "bread and butter". Since demand is already being met for cocaine et al, the upside from those other activities is limited.
Actually, marijuana's at the top.
Eliminating revenue from imported marijuana would be a serious blow to the power of the Mexican cartels.
Goddard might consider legalized marijuana
Goddard said marijuana sales make up 75 percent of the money that Mexican cartels use for other operations, including smuggling other drugs and fighting the Mexican army and police.
DEA Mexico Chief Reyes Lists Reasons To End Marijuana Prohibition
Reyes went on to say that:
1. “Marijuana is the cartel's cash cow. Cheap to grow, and extremely profitable.”
2. “The tried and true method of making money has always been marijuana. It is what allows them to further their basis of operations into other drugs, for example cocaine, heroin and meth-amphetamine. They are all fueled by the proceeds generated through marijuana.”
3. “The US consumer is their #1 customer.”
Good try though.
“Legalizing marijuana will do NOTHING to stop these criminals.”
I have to disagree. According to the DEA, approximately 80% of their profits are from pot.
I don’t smoke the stuff but Prohibition II is failing. The catastrophic results are there for all to see. The cure is worse than the disease!
And it’s not like the people that want marijuana aren’t getting it. The WOD isn’t even making a serious dent in the flow of drugs.
Yes it would. They are already smuggling all sorts of contraband to maximize revenue. You think they are passing up opportunites for profit now?
Apparently you don't remember carrying on this same dead-end argument a couple of weeks ago.
As I recall, you conveniently disbelieved any governmental figures regarding drug use. Figures which just happended to refute your unsuported assertions. Reminds me of this thread as well.
“Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,” I wonder if she has any more brilliant bits of wisdom to share like say, where there’s smoke there’s fire.
“They are already smuggling all sorts of contraband to maximize revenue. You think they are passing up opportunites for profit now?”
Makes my point quite succinctly for me, thank you.
Of course, that is anyone does not include their kids, grandchildren and nieces & nephews.
Hillary is right.
Without the consumer north of the Rio Grande, there would be no Demand and without Demand there would be no economic reason to create a Supply.
See: Any high school Economics textbook.
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