“Last year was the bloodiest yet in Mexico’s war against organised crime as drug-related deaths jumped to a record high.
More than 15,000 people lost their lives in Mexico’s conflicted with the traffickers in 2010.”
Watch, read and be depressed. I’m curious as to how long the US is going to ignore the Mexican Meltdown. Maybe when the death toll doubles? Triples?
What was particularly interesting was the poll cited during the interview saying that the Mexican government strategy of using the Army to tackle the Drug Lords was wrong, and rather a negotiated settlement between the government and the drug dealers should be reached, as the current plan is causing too much death and upheaval.
Not mentioned is the idea that the major consumers of Mexican drug trade, the US and Canada could probably do away with a large portion of this violence by simply legalizing and taxing the heck out of these substances.
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
7 comments
January 17, 2011 at 9:30 am
tildeb
Exactly right. Legalize and tax.
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January 17, 2011 at 9:37 am
Vern R. Kaine
I’m curious as to how long the US is going to ignore the Mexican Meltdown. Maybe when the death toll doubles? Triples?”
“…the US and Canada could probably do away with a large portion of this violence by simply legalizing and taxing the heck out of these substances.”
Are you saying the U.S. is ignoring this meltdown by ignoring the legalization issue domestically? Just curious. I happen to agree with the legalize and tax approach as well.
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January 17, 2011 at 11:40 am
The Arbourist
Are you saying the U.S. is ignoring this meltdown by ignoring the legalization issue domestically?
Legalizing more drugs in the US has been a contentious issue for some time, when I see the argument for being made I often see this in response:
1. Legalizing currently illegal drugs will make money for the state or create a zero – sum situation with regards to treatment and rehabilitation
2. Criminality involving drugs will plummet.
3. …
4. Chaos and rioting in a drug-crazed society, we all die horribly vicious deaths!
5. ?
And that is as far as it usually gets, because once one side postulates and seriously believes the end of civilized society rests on whether marijuana (and other drugs) is legalized, you really cannot go much farther.
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January 17, 2011 at 3:08 pm
Vern R. Kaine
True. False altruism on one side and destructive selfishness on the other make it difficult to get anywhere.
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January 17, 2011 at 11:01 pm
Bleatmop
I always find it curious that almost everyone says that prohibition of alcohol was a bad idea in the US and it was folly to do so, but the same group of people can be dramatically divided upon prohibition of other drugs (yes, alcohol is a drug). Alcohol prohibition funded organized crime and now other drug prohibition is funding a civil war. What else can this unstoppable force do?
Also, of all the recreational drugs available, alcohol has to be in the top 5 for most destructive based on effect only AND the western world hasn’t collapsed because it’s legal.
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January 19, 2011 at 3:02 pm
Vern R. Kaine
“the western world hasn’t collapsed because [alcohol] is legal.”
Nor have we really changed much as a society because of drugs being illegal.
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January 21, 2011 at 2:45 pm
Bleatmop
“Nor have we really changed much as a society because of drugs being illegal.”
Other than creating an entire prison industry putting otherwise productive people in jail for having one too many joints. Other than further creating an environment where organized crime will thrive and be better funded than the law enforcement agencies trying to stop them. Other than funding a civil war in Mexico. Other than forfeiting massive amounts of taxes that could be used in nation building. Other than those things at least, we haven’t changed much.
Reading that, the tone sounds confrontational. I’m not trying to be, but I don’t know how to keep the message and change the tone.
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