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T.G.I.F. my friends I hope you have all had a good week and are looking forward to a great weekend, because I am. I am also sorry this post is coming to all of you so late today, but as the saying goes “life Happens”, and it happened to me today. Today’s blog is going to be on Mexico and the War on Drugs. Anyway let’s get started what do you say?
As I am sure you are all aware we have been fighting the war on drugs for decades. We have not always been successful in our efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into our country, but we have had our victories to. The war on drugs has lasted longer than the Vietnam War, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan combined. It has also cost more money than all three of those wars put together, and when you count the lives lost on all sides of the drug war the loss of life is immensely greater also.
This war has also been fought on many fields and fronts from Europe, the Far and Middle East, to central and South America, and now Mexico. Although for the record Mexico has always been a port of entry for smuggling drugs into the US the four Mexican cartels that are currently vying for supremacy as the reigning exporter of drugs to the states control the Mexican side of the border now and no one smuggles drugs into the US unless one of them gets paid.
The war on drugs in Mexico has really gotten bad on their side of the border in recent years. Many of the cartel members either have prior military or law enforcement experience. Some of these guys are even still serving in the Mexican military or as law enforcement officers inside of Mexico. Their training in weapons and technology make them far superior to other criminal organizations around the world.
The results of their expertise are immediately obvious to even the most casual observer. Their willingness to bring death to their adversaries with cool, calculated, efficiency is just one trademark of their talents demonstrated to their countrymen and the world on a near daily basis. Their expertise in exporting drugs to the US and importing weapons back into Mexico speaks to their talent for avoiding capture and arrest.
Now I am going to say something that most of you will find surprising, and that is that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was right. She was right about the hunger and desire for the drugs that these cartels supply by many of our citizens, which makes us partially responsible for the drug trade that flourishes in Mexico. She was right about US weapons and money going to Mexico as partially our responsibility as well.
However I am quite sure that Mexico is at least as much responsible for these things as we are, after all it is their side of the border that US weapons and cash are smuggled across by these very cartels, in order for them to finance and wage their war on terror against the Mexican people. It is also across their side of the border that the trafficking in illegal narcotics begins.
For the record though I don’t think that it is necessary for our Secretary of State to apologize to the Mexican government for their criminal elements and their lack of ability to police those criminals. It is not our fault that their government officials, law enforcement officers, and military personnel are corrupt. We are not responsible for their current economic instability either.
In one way or another, American dollars are Mexico’s biggest import, whether it is by illegal immigrants sending a portion of the money they earn here back to Mexico, or the profits from drugs that get smuggled back into their country by the drug cartels. Mexico is responsible for their own economic problems by utilizing a de-facto caste system where the few rule the rich like the royals and the serfs in 15th century Europe.
The truth is that the major export from Mexico to the US is Cannabis Sativa although they do import cocaine and heroin into the US as well. However if we were to not only decriminalize marijuana, but legalize it as well most of the problems on the border would disappear overnight. Well that and actually do something on our side of the line with a real border security plan like building the fence, increasing border agents, and applying 21st century technology to the task.
Well that is all I have to rant about here at Simple Man Politics for today. I hope you all have an awesome weekend and I will be back again next week, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
As you all know I for the most part consider myself to be a pretty conservative person. However there are a couple of things that I really take a more moderate to liberal view on and today’s subject is on of those things. You see today’s subject is the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes as well as the idea of marijuana legalization for general use.
This subject has been very hard fought by those for and against marijuana legalization for decades. I can understand why some would not want marijuana legalized, but by the same token I can understand why others would want to legalize it also.
I believe that the important question on the matter is whether or not it would be moral or immoral to legalize marijuana at all. I think I can shed a little light on that subject although by the end of this blog you will see that my opinion is a little bit biased.
Opposition to legalization:
Opponents of any legislation to legalize marijuana have a couple of reasons why they oppose legalization. One reason that they have is that marijuana is already an illegal drug and therefore should not be legalized.
Another reason for their opposition is that they believe that marijuana is not only addictive, but will lead to the use of harder and more dangerous drugs subsequently leading to addiction to those as well.
Their last reason for opposing marijuana legalization is that with all of the things out there currently for public consumption like alcohol and tobacco why do we need one more thing that might be considered a health risk.
Proponents of legalization:
Those that favor legalizing marijuana have a couple of arguments of their own. One of these arguments is that certain people with medical problems can use Marijuana to alleviate pain for things like cancer and glaucoma. They favor at least legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Others who are also on the side of legalizing marijuana point to the fact that more criminal acts are committed by people under the influence of alcohol than on marijuana. They point to crimes like vehicular homicide, or manslaughter, murder, and domestic violence. They say that you never hear of anyone smoking a joint then beating on their wife and kids, or robbing a liquor store.
Supporters of legislation to legalize marijuana will also tell us that marijuana is not an addictive substance. They also point out that there is no scientific evidence to support marijuana as an addictive substance or that it leads to the usage of harder narcotic substances and addiction to them either.
Currently the state of California is considering legalizing, harvesting, and taxing marijuana for public use in their state. The reason for this is that the State of California as of right now has a budget deficit of more than 48 Billion dollars. They also point to a Department of Agriculture report showing that marijuana is the states largest cash crop bringing in more than citrus, which is the states 2nd largest cash crop and is responsible for about 7 Billion dollars of revenue to California. Marijuana production in California has been estimated to bring in as much as 20 Billion dollars a year and that may be a conservative estimate.
As far as I am concerned I lean more towards the legalization of marijuana than not. I believe that it should be legalized for medicinal purposes. I would further contend that the supporters of marijuana legalization are right and that it is not a harmful narcotic and should be legalized, produced, marketed, and taxed for public consumption. I am sure that there are those of you out there with opinions that differ from mine, but it is how I feel.
That is all I have for you guys today, but I will be back again tomorrow. Have a terrific day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!
http://norml.org/
http://www.marijuanalobby.org/?gclid=CMj17MOPppkCFSQMDQodS33kqA
http://www.drugpolicy.org/marijuana/factsmyths/?gclid=CPDb4KeQppkCFQHyDAod-nzAqg
Hello all my friends, it’s time for Wednesdays post, and this one is going to be really controversial. Today’s post is going to be on illegal drugs, political policies, and the laws that deal with them. I hope the people that asked me to do this one enjoy it.
The war on drugs has been going on for a very long time now, and it has cost this country a great deal of money and resources, both here and abroad. We have fought this war in Columbia against the Cartels, who were responsible for the cocaine craze in the seventies, all the way up to today in the poppy fields of Afghanistan, whose opium is responsible for 90% of the world’s heroin. Right here in the good ole US of A as well the war's been fought, going after Marijuana farmers, methamphetamine, and cocaine labs.
I have to wonder after all this time if we are winning the war, losing the war, or if we are in a Mexican standoff with all these governments, and organizations who continually try to get it in the US. The government will tell you we are winning the war, supply is down, prices are up, and that many criminals have been locked up. The opposing side will tell you we are losing, and cite the rise of drug use, especially among younger Americans, and that every time we lock some bad guy drug dealer up there are ten more waiting to take their place. They counter that the money and resources could be used elsewhere to fight real crime, and offenders with no violent crimes attached to them should be treated not incarcerated. Then you have the guys who are actually in the drug trade telling us we aren’t winning or losing and neither are they. They say supply is at an all time high, as are prices because the quality is so much better, and every time we come up with a new piece of technology, or strategy to combat them they come up with something to neutralize it, and then we are all back to square one.
Then you have the medical marijuana war. One side says it should be legalized because it relieves pain for cancer, and glaucoma patients, and they have doctors who back them up. Then you have the anti medicinal marijuana crowd who say there is no evidence that it does any better a job than conventional drugs already being used, and it’s just a pathway to legalization of marijuana period, and that the medicinal part of the argument is just a hoax.
Then you have the politicians, and their candidate’s positions on marijuana legalization both medicinal and otherwise. There is even a side by side comparison of McCain and Obama on the subject. A thumbnail description on where they stand though is that McCain isn’t for the legalization of medicinal marijuana, and Obama isn’t opposed to it. However they both appear to be in agreement on doing what ever is necessary to combat the really bad stuff, like crack, cocaine, and methamphetamine.
I interviewed two individuals for this post to see where they stood on these issues. One was a teen, and the other was a twenty something conservative. They were both in agreement that all drugs should be outlawed with the possible exception of medicinal marijuana, and then, only if there were incontrovertible scientific evidence that there was a benefit to legalizing marijuana for medical use and that it increased the quality of life for the patient it was prescribed for. They both also agreed that alcohol was just as dangerous a drug as most of the others and probably more dangerous than marijuana. They didn’t both agree that drug offenders should be incarcerated, or treated. The younger interviewee was for treatment, while the older individual was for incarceration prior to treatment.
Now, for my two cents worth. I’ve had plenty of experience with both drugs, and alcohol, and I do believe that we have some major problems with illicit narcotics in our country and with the war on drugs. First off I believe that we should do what ever it takes to take hard drugs like crack-cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine off the streets of this nation simply because they kill. I also believe that alcohol is almost as dangerous as those drugs we should be fighting to remove it, especially when it is abused. As for marijuana, I don’t believe it is near as dangerous as alcohol, and don't believe that it leads to stronger stuff. I think it should be legalized, and not just at the state level, but the federal level too. As for incarceration of drug offenders, I believe that it can be an effective deterrent against the sale, and distribution of drugs, but that to a junkie or addict it really isn’t effective unless it’s a step towards treatment for the dependency.
There you go folks, everything I know about drugs, policy, and enforcement. All I can do is find the facts, and give them to you, but you still have to decide for yourselves. I’ll see you all on Friday for the last installment of the week. Have a wonderful day, CIAO4NOW!!!!!!
