Let's Learn from the Disaster of Prohibition and Terminate the Drug War

[marmar]

via ReclaimDemocracy!:



Let's Learn from the Disaster of Prohibition and Terminate the Drug War
By Mike Gray

First Published by Common Sense for Drug Policy, April 12, 2009


In 1932, Alphonse Capone, an influential businessman then living in Chicago, used to drive through the city in a caravan of armor-plated limos built to his specifications by General Motors. Submachine-gun-toting associates led the motorcade and brought up the rear. It is a measure of how thoroughly the mob mentality had permeated everyday life that this was considered normal.

Capone and his boys were agents of misguided policy. Ninety years ago, the United States tried to cure the national thirst for alcohol, and it led to an explosion of violence unlike anything we'd ever seen. Today, it's hard to ignore the echoes of Prohibition in the drug-related mayhem along our southern border. Over the past 15 months, there have been 7,200 drug-war deaths in Mexico alone, as the government there battles an army of killers that would scare the pants off Al Capone.

Now U.S. officials are warning that the vandals may be headed in this direction. Too late: They're already here. And they're in a good position to take over organized crime in this country as well.

After decades of trying to stem the influx of illegal narcotics into the United States, it's clear that the drug war, like Prohibition, has led us into a gruesome blind alley. Drugs are cheaper than ever before and you can buy them anywhere. As Mexico's cash-starved government struggles to keep up the good fight, the drug barons rake in more than enough to buy political protection and military power while still maintaining profit margins beyond imagining. And what's driving this desperate struggle may be the ubiquitous weed: Southwestern lawmen say that marijuana accounts for two-thirds of the cartels' income.

At last, the spectacular violence in Mexico has captured everybody's attention, and in an eerie replay of the end of alcohol prohibition, we may at last be witnessing the final act in the war on drugs. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://reclaimdemocracy.org/articles/2009/prohibition_drug_war.php

[aquart]

1. Yes.

Legalize and tax.

[ixion]

2. Yes, let's

The sooner the better, IMO.

[tooeyeten]

3. I don't buy it

" the spectacular violence in Mexico has captured everybody's attention"

At least if you're talking about making a change in the US drug policy. It won't happen, because the power and money remains in the lobbyists' hands who are against any decriminalization or legalization, they control the Hill.

[Festivito]

6. I think you mean you would like it if you could defeat the lobbyists.

It's sad we Americans don't fight back by writing back, that is to our politicians.

[tooeyeten]

7. writing?

Standing with placards in front of their offices in their districts may be the real solution, writing only counts IF we're in their district first of all, and if we agree with their political views.

Lobbyists own our politician's ballz.

[Jkid]

8. They fear that politicans don't listen.

Many people don't write to their politicians because they think that with the massive influence lobbyists have on them, they'll just chuck them in the trash.

Besides you practically can't mail letters to your Congressmen because each piece of mail sent to Congress has to be scanned for any anthrax, and that takes six weeks.

[MH1]

4. It's another war that is prosecuted for profit by special interests.

So much money is to be made, it will be really hard to end it.

[bertman]

5. What tooeyeten and MH1 said! But I'm still lobbying for legalization of marijuana ASAP.

[david13]

9. Don't tax it. Just produce it, cheap. That way

the drug dealers are out of business. Alas, but so are thousands of ... "DEA's" who need a job. ?
People will argue, oh, the drug dealers will continue because they are evil. No they won't. They are only in it for the money, take the money out of it and they are out of the business.
Tax it and there will still be bootleggers to avoid the tax.
DEA's can go to work building roads, or schools or something.
dc