How Legalizing Drugs Will End the Violence

[soulxtc]

Back in the early 1960s, I often sneaked into Mexico at the San Diego-Tijuana border. Too young to cross legally, I'd coil up in the trunk of Charlie Romero's '54 Merc. My buddies and I would head straight for the notorious Blue Fox to guzzle Carta Blancas, shoot Cuervo Gold and take in the "adult entertainment" acts. It wasn't something I'd necessarily want my kid doing, but there was a certain innocence to it: tasting freedom, partaking of forbidden adult pleasures. The frontera of Mexico was a fun, safe place to visit.

All that has changed.

From Tijuana to Matamoros, drug gang violence along the U.S.-Mexico border has taken the lives of thousands -- cops, soldiers, drug dealers, often their families, other innocent citizens from both sides of the border. Even a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Many others have gone missing and are presumed dead.

In the mid-'90s, the Arellano brothers' drug cartel ruled Tijuana, perched atop the hierarchy of Mexico's multibillion dollar illegal drug trafficking industry. Using cars, planes and trucks -- and an intimate knowledge of NAFTA -- the Arellanos transported hundreds of tons of cocaine, heroin, marijuana and methamphetamine into American cities.

They enlisted U.S. drug gangs. In 1993, in my last days as San Diego's assistant police chief, the local gang Calle Treinte was implicated in the Arellano-inspired killing of Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo. The Arellanos bribed officials on both sides of the border, spending over $75 million annually on the Mexican side alone, to grease their illicit trafficking.

And they enforced their rule not just with murder but with torture. If Steven Soderbergh's gritty 2000 film "Traffic" caused you to squirm in your seat, the real-life story of Mexican drug dealing is even more disquieting. The brothers once kidnapped a rival's wife and children. With videotape running, they tossed two of the kids off a bridge, then sent their competitor a copy of the tape, along with the severed head of his wife. Another double-crosser had his skull crushed in a compression vice. And who can forget the carne asada BBQs, where the Arellanos would roast entire families over flaming tires?

http://www.alternet.org/drugreporter/39565/

[Twodeer]

Awesome article Soulxtc. One thing I know for sure...if they did legalize drugs it would seriously affect California's economy. We had many discussions about this when I was in school just a couple of years ago. They build prison's here at an astronomical rate. It is a huge industry here. They estimate that 80% of the prison population's crimes are drug related. Can you imagine what would happen if they legalized drugs and lost 80% of their prison population? The income they would start to lose? Not to mention the fact that racial equality would be impacted. I hope that I am alive to see the day when they do legalize drugs and put the money that is used to fight it into recovery and education.

[soulxtc]

And also think about how if that 80% were released, at >40,000 bucks a year to take care of them, thats a lot of mullah that could be used 4 schools instead.

Found a cool site actually when tried to find total prison population, check it out its realy cool, and this grapg below proves it.

http://www.prisonactivist.org/crisis/prison-industrial.html

http://www.prisonactivist.org/gifs/incarceration-rate.gif

Arent those facts frightening? DOUIBLE South Africa? And Indonesia has a population way bigger than California and look our incarceration rate is like 30 times theirs!! Makes me sick to stomach sometimes, and yes I do too hope I live to see the day they legalize the stuff.

The article above was cool also because it was written by our former Assistant Police Chief here in San Diego. U think people would latch onto the notion that we could end drug violence almost completely in a few minutes by announcing drugs were legal, its mind-boggling that more people dont get it.

ALSO: California spends $5.6 billion on incarceration, and $4.3 billion for higher education.

[WonderNerd]

All this violence does kinda suck - but if we are going to keep fighting it, my recommendation

is to switch from our standard M-16/AR-15 to something like AK-47's, the reason being

because the AR series uses 5.56mm bullets, which are standard NATO high velocity bullets

which ricochet, and travel along bone. An AK-47, and other Kalashnikov variants fire 7.62mm (i think it's .62),

which have enough mass to get into the bone. The sad thing is that America's just starting to realize

this. It takes up to 10 bullets from an M-16 to down an enemy, whereas they only use about 2 or 3.

[sebbell]

And also think about how if that 80% were released, at >40,000 bucks a year to take care of them, thats a lot of mullah that could be used 4 schools instead.

Found a cool site actually when tried to find total prison population, check it out its realy cool, and this grapg below proves it.

http://www.prisonactivist.org/crisis/prison-industrial.html

http://www.prisonactivist.org/gifs/incarceration-rate.gif

Arent those facts frightening? DOUIBLE South Africa? And Indonesia has a population way bigger than California and look our incarceration rate is like 30 times theirs!! Makes me sick to stomach sometimes, and yes I do too hope I live to see the day they legalize the stuff.

The article above was cool also because it was written by our former Assistant Police Chief here in San Diego. U think people would latch onto the notion that we could end drug violence almost completely in a few minutes by announcing drugs were legal, its mind-boggling that more people dont get it.

ALSO: California spends $5.6 billion on incarceration, and $4.3 billion for higher education.
I totally agree that drugs should be legalised and that crime rates would drop, but drugs are also illegal in Indonesia, France etc. Indonesia and Singapore carry the death penalty for fairly minor drug offences. I am assuming the rates of drug use are similar in western societies. I don't know what, but there must be more to it than just illegal drugs to account for such a large differnce in incarceration rates. Even taking out CA the rest of the US is still more than 5 times higher than the UK, France, Germany etc.

[tackdaddy]

you all have got to be joking, legalizing all drugs is crazy. crack, herion, meth, oxycotin, coke, just to name a few would destroy america. weed is one thing but these other drugs are highly addictive dangerous. legalizing drugs to end violence is a crock of shit, most people can't even handle alcohol in a responsible manner and you want to leagalize stuff that is way stronger. i could really care less what anyone has to say and there points on how legalizing all drugs would be a good thing because it would all be wrong. this has got be one of the stupidest ideas ever and there are no valid reasons to do this. i could type a bunch of stuff here on why this is a dumb idea but i won't since anyone with half a brain would know better.

[.:sp00ky:.]

you all have got to be joking, legalizing all drugs is crazy. crack, herion, meth, oxycotin, coke, just to name a few would destroy america. weed is one thing but these other drugs are highly addictive dangerous. legalizing drugs to end violence is a crock of shit, most people can't even handle alcohol in a responsible manner and you want to leagalize stuff that is way stronger. i could really care less what anyone has to say and there points on how legalizing all drugs would be a good thing because it would all be wrong. this has got be one of the stupidest ideas ever and there are no valid reasons to do this. i could type a bunch of stuff here on why this is a dumb idea but i won't since anyone with half a brain would know better.


Im so glad someone with any common sence posted in this thread.

also

I totally agree that drugs should be legalised and that crime rates would drop

why is this, do you think people who rob and steal to buy drugs care where the drugs come from lets says you can walk into your local shop and buy some crack that would only lead to more addicts robbing and stealing to get money to go buy more drugs for their addiction.

when you are a addict and you need drugs everyday you really don't give a shit where or how you get them.

[sebbell]

most people who rob and steal to buy drugs do so because they can't afford their habit. I'm not talking about walking into your local shop to buy crack, or flooding the streets with drugs. Why not try some clinical trials and see what happens, or we could just keep on doing what has always been done, I'm sure we'll win the war one day.

[soulxtc]

most people who rob and steal to buy drugs do so because they can't afford their habit. I'm not talking about walking into your local shop to buy crack, or flooding the streets with drugs. Why not try some clinical trials and see what happens, or we could just keep on doing what has always been done, I'm sure we'll win the war one day.

Anything'd better than what we have now.

[CrashPeer44]

America sucks ass.

[mfgbypooter]

Legal drugs would be dirt cheap so no need to rob or steal.

With the cocaine epidemic of the 90's (1890's) it was the shunning of drug addiction by society itself that took care of the problem, not the passing of anti-drug laws which didn't go on the books until well into the 20th century, which were racially motivated in nature.

The drug war is a racial war plain and simple.

Damn mexicans and their weed.

Damn chinese and their opium.

Damn blacks and their cocaine.

Throw them all in jail.

40 to life.

*

[Potato]

Legal drugs would be dirt cheap so no need to rob or steal.
... and people would still do it.

[shawners]

Awesome article Soulxtc. One thing I know for sure...if they did legalize drugs it would seriously affect California's economy. We had many discussions about this when I was in school just a couple of years ago. They build prison's here at an astronomical rate. It is a huge industry here. They estimate that 80% of the prison population's crimes are drug related. Can you imagine what would happen if they legalized drugs and lost 80% of their prison population? The income they would start to lose? Not to mention the fact that racial equality would be impacted. I hope that I am alive to see the day when they do legalize drugs and put the money that is used to fight it into recovery and education.


Yeah, 80 percent be out, and acquire jobs that we need to work and pay bills with.. Then they will lose their job since drugs would make them undependable, they would get workers comp, rob places to buy drugs that are legal. Then they would go to blood banks to sell plasma and then go shoot up. And we see all these losers walking down the street and have to worry about them talking our kids into doing drugs or trying to let them know how innocent it is and that it doesn't hurt anyone. Lets build prisons, and let them obtain their reefer in both ways in a confined society.

[mfgbypooter]

... and people would still do it.of course.

Robbing and stealing is a rush, just like doing dope.

*

[Digital Bliss]

Legal drugs would be dirt cheap so no need to rob or steal.

*

I highly doubt that what will happen is drug dealers will just come out with stronger shit to compete.

[mfgbypooter]

Wal-mart will be your drug dealer.

*

[sebbell]

cool, you could buy a gun and get your drug of choice all under the one roof.

[Mels_Smileys45]

There is no easy answer to the drug PROBLEM. I do not agree with many of the drug laws, in particular, how the drug users are locked up with the same bid as attempted muderers and the like.

Its clear that harsh punishment is not only ineffective, its also expensive. The war on drugs eats away at our tax dollars while building up a bigger, badder, more controlling goverment. The goverment has no motive to end this war as the dollars keep rolling in while houses, cars, assets, ect. are also seized, thereby their jobs kept secure. Only the people can say theyve had enough. Education is the integral component to help people, not punish, help. Somewhere that cause has been lost in the bureaucracy or rather, the big piles of money.