Legalize Drugs Now!

In 1971 President Nixon declared a war on drugs, identifying drug abuse as "public enemy No.1".  Forty years later we can say that the war on drugs is a terrible failure.  There has been at least 5,000 drug related deaths in Mexico in the last year.  According to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), "Prohibition costs tax payers tens of billions of dollars every year, yet 40 years and some 40 million arrests later, drugs are cheaper, more potent and far more widely used than at the beginning of this futile crusade.".  The war on drugs has made our communities dangerous, encouraged the youth that drugs is a way to get rich fast, corrupted police, and encouraged the sale and distribution of guns.  This is a war that we will never win and it is now time to legalize all drugs.

     There are still many people in the United States who are afraid of even discussing the issue of legalizing drugs.  John Hawkins wrote an article, "In Defense of the Drug War" stated;"... do we really want the federal government to take over the role of a pusher and get our kids hooked on drugs to make a profit?".  It seems to me that this argument doesn't make much sense.  The U.S. has regulated both alcohol and cigarettes sales to minors.  The law is not always perfect but it works better than the war on  drugs.  In fact the use of cigarettes have declined dramatically because of education and laws regulating the smoking of cigarettes.

    One of the tragic unintentional consequences of the war on drugs has been the violence in Mexico.  The drug cartels have used Mexico as a transportation center to bring drugs to the United States.  There are estimates that the cartels make $8 billion to $23 billion a year from drug smuggling.  Just imagine if this source of income was no longer to available to these criminals if drugs were legalized.  I'm in favor of legazing drugs.  My grandfather grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico, one hour north of Cuidad Juarez, Mexico.  My mother visited Mexico many times, and the family enjoyed their trips around Mexico.  However, drug violence today has made Juarez the most dangerous city in the world.  It is impossible for honest policemen or newspaper reporters to survive long in Juarez.  The ordinary people face horrible violence every day and it related to the huge amounts on money that are made from the illegal sale of drugs.  If the U.S. government was to legalize the distribution and sale of drugs then these drug lords would loose  all of their profits.

 Facts:
1. LEAP " Why Leagize Drugs"
2. "In Defense of the Drug War"
3  The War on Drugs is a Failure
4.  Timeline: America's War on Drugs