The stupidity in these comments from the Obama administration is ASTOUNDING. They ADMIT the reason there is so much violence in Mexico is because the U.S. and Mexican govt.'s are LITERALLY having a "war" with the drug cartels. The drug cartels however have an EXTREMELY profitable drug market in the U.S. (criminalization of drugs significantly ups the profit margin for heroin, cocaine, marijuana etc.) and THEY WILL protect it. So why are we punishing the addicts and the suppliers when the POLICY is the reason why A) the drugs are extremely profitable and B) there is incentive for cartels to get heavily armed to protect these profits?? Wouldn't it make WAY more sense to DECRIMINALIZE hard drugs (cocaine, heroin, crack, meth etc.) similar to Portugal's program?? (hard drug rates dropped across the board, enrollment in treatment doubled) Then LEGALIZE marijuana and regulate it just like alcohol??? http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/18/us.mexico.presidential.visit/index.html The Obama administration said one reason for the rise in violence is the pressure both governments are putting on drug cartels. "The pressure that the Calderon administration has placed on the DTOs [drug trafficking organizations] has certainly generated a great deal of violence as those organizations fight for more restricted access to the United States in terms of the drug market," said a senior administration official who briefed reporters Wednesday on the condition of not being identified. "But putting pressure on the DTOs is an important part of a multipronged strategy to create a lasting dismantlement of these organizations that generate crime and violence in Mexico and have deleterious effects in the United States as well." Portugal's decriminalization program appears to be working. (Hard drug user rates dropped across the board) Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work? http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html In contrast the U.S. War on Drugs is FAILING IN EVERY RESPECT: AP IMPACT: US drug war has met none of its goals http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100513/ap_on_re_us/failed_drug_war Decriminalization makes these drugs MORE PROFITABLE. (for cartels since they're illegal..........why not treat hard drug use as a public health problem instead of a criminal problem??) Plummeting Marijuana Prices Create A Panic In Calif. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126806429&ft=1&f=2&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+NprProgramsATC+%28NPR+Programs:+All+Things+Considered%29 President Obama and Mexican President Felipe Calderon are meeting at the White House this week to discuss throwing even more money away into a failed drug war................wonderful. mikegolf.........."Actually the people to blame are the drug users who are buying the stuff - knowing that the money will be used to fund violence and murder." So you're going to blame addicts?? lol That's ridiculous considering we hardly even try to treat them.
Politics - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
For the most part it's a mixture of A and B. I think they partially like a police state when the police are enforcing something that they personally are against as well, but once they do something that will harm conservatives that would end quickly.
2 :
you forgot D) all of the above which btw is the correct answer
3 :
Obama's trying to save face with the political center... the last thing he needs right now is a Republican attack ad on "he's soft on drugs and hates your children" the elections are coming up... if the conservatives didn't care, he would do it tomorrow, but there are political realities he has to deal with... Reagan had a "drug scare" and that still rings true with many older people... if it's factual or not... you could have the best idea in the world, but if the population of a democratic nation doesn't want it, you can't do it...
4 :
Actually the people to blame are the drug users who are buying the stuff - knowing that the money will be used to fund violence and murder.
5 :
A combination of B and C.
