Posted on 06/25/2011 6:39:45 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
MEXICO CITY — Once praised lavishly by the United States for waging a war on drugs, Mexico's last two presidents now say legalizing them may be the best way to end the rising violence the U.S.-backed campaign has unleashed.
Ernesto Zedillo and Vicente Fox led efforts to crush drug trafficking gangs in Mexico between 1994 and 2006 but the rapid escalation of violence over the past four years under President Felipe Calderon has convinced them a change of tack is needed.
"As a country, we are going through problems due to the fact that the United States consumes too many drugs," the 68-year-old Fox told business leaders in Texas last month. "I would recommend to legalize, de-penalize all drugs."
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
When a mob like this forms, whatever is still banned, however good the reason, will find them in the middle of it. What would Teddy Roosevelt do? What’s the Mexican word for chutzpah?
Demand drives the market. The market drives the violence.
Just legalize it and send most of the cartels thugs to the unemployment line.
MEXICO CITY — Once praised lavishly by the United States for waging a war on drugs, Mexico’s last two presidents now say legalizing them may be the best way to end the rising violence the U.S.-backed campaign has unleashed.
I guess Foxs funds are running low since he must not be seeing anymore of the kickback he was probably receiving from the cartel. The violence is on your side Senor and you did nothing but ignore it when you were Presidente. Your opinion means even less now that you are gone.
complete surrender to a Narco State on our open border, onederful, huh?
Sure legalize everything,that is all that crap hole is good for!
The cartels will move over here all the way to keep up their bidness.
I would be for legalizing drugs if we found a way to protect society from the addicts who would not be able to support themselves and their families (therefore, suck off welfare and social security benefits from taxpayers) and who would victimize others as they go morally and mentally insane. We would have an increase in addicts and they would suck us dry. But the cost of the drug war to liberty is too high a price to pay now.
If Mexico legalizes drugs, we should demand they open their borders as we have so they can keep their customers.
I agree that Mexico should legalize the drugs and support all of the addicts that come their way.
I don’t understand how legalzation would make the cartels go away.
Screw you, Fox. Your refried brain probably looks like Chavez’s prostrate.
From http://www.narconon.org/drug-information/mexico-drug-addiction.html
Mexico’s Addiction Survey Reports Rapid Growth in Drug Use
The national Addiction Survey is completed every five or six years, the latest one being in 2008 and the prior survey being published in 2002. Fifty thousand homes in Mexico are surveyed, but authorities commented that they were reluctant to survey some of the northern states where drug manufacture and trafficking is the most prevalent, due to safety concerns for the surveyors.
The 2008 Addiction Survey reported that the number of people who had used drugs increased by a million between 2002 and 2008 - from 3.5 million to 4.5 million. Inhalable cocaine use almost doubled. For those between the ages of 12 and 25, 43 percent are exposed to drug use, half of those experiment with drugs and 13 percent use drugs frequently. The number of those addicted to illegal drugs increased 51 percent to nearly half a million.
In addition to those who are addicted, the Addiction Survey reported that another four million people needed what they termed a “brief intervention” to get them off drugs, and that 80 percent of the population needs prevention help. The survey also reported that the use of crack cocaine, methamphetamine and powder cocaine that had previously only been seen in Tijuana and Baja California had now spread to more than 100 cities.
Yeah, I know it’s prostate but my subconscious must have been screaming flatline.
They're already here growing pot in our national parks. If marijuana were regulated like alcohol, the cartels would lose the revenue they currently receive from illegal marijuana. Do you agree on that point?
I would be for legalizing drugs if we found a way to protect society from the addicts who would not be able to support themselves and their families (therefore, suck off welfare and social security benefits from taxpayers) and who would victimize others as they go morally and mentally insane. We would have an increase in addicts and they would suck us dry. But the cost of the drug war to liberty is too high a price to pay now.
In the first bolded part, you make legalization contingent on shielding us from the effects of more addicts etc.
In the last bolded part, you seem to be saying the cost to our liberties is too high to continue the drug war, therefore restore our liberties even if it means more addicts.
Would you clarify?
I’ll take Calderon over Fox any day of the week.
I don't know that it would make them disappear altogether, but if we regulated marjuana like we do alcohol, the cartels would be deprived of the revenue they currently receive from it.
Right now, mj is their biggest source of revenue. As Drug Czar Walters put it, it's their 'bread and butter'.
So why would they give that up just because it's legalized? The fact that it won't have a tax stamp makes it cheaper and even more desirable.
A black market simply cannot compete with a well regulated market. Alcohol is such a market. Organized crime today can't make much money off of illegal alcohol sales. If they could, the cartels would be selling it.
The fact that it won't have a tax stamp makes it cheaper and even more desirable.
Pay attention now. I said if we regulated marijuana like we do alcohol, their revenues from mj would dry up. Imposing an excessive tax on marijuana would not be regulating it like alcohol... right?
It should be a self evident point that a well regulated market dries up a black market. Do you agree?
>>> Chickenshitz can’t control their own country so it’s our fault. Right.
As though we controlled Chicago so well during Prohibition. And there is a LOT more money in play with today’s drug wars.
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