Carnage in Mexico
While US citizens fret over worsening economic conditions, Mexicans worry about survival. Bombings, assassinations and vigilante justice are on the rise in northern Mexico, with no clear end in sight. The illicit drug trade has gotten so lucrative that drug merchants keep government officials on the payroll, and the officials that can’t be bribed are murdered. Now innocent civilians are getting caught in the crossfire.
The explosion of violence in Mexico is just another sordid chapter in America’s long running “War on Drugs”. In the 1980s President Ronald Reagan made clear his intentions to fight domestic drug abuse by attempting to stop the flow of drugs into the US, primarily from Latin America. But drug abuse is still rampant, and the violence from illegal drug sales continues to plague communities all across the continent. By any objective standard, the War on Drugs has been a dismal failure.
In the US, the government believes that it can block recreational drugs from entering the country and that this will miraculously put addicts on the path to sobriety. If public policy were based on clear headed analysis rather than cheap political slogans, our government would recognize that taking one drug away will only lead addicts to some other intoxicant. Substance abuse treatment programs are more deserving of public support than drug interdiction operations.
In America we champion individual rights and responsibilities. We should expect adults to make smart decisions when it comes to recreational drug use. Prohibition didn’t work with alcohol. It’s not working with other drugs either.
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