LEGALIZING MARIJUANA WILL CURB HOSTILITY AMONG DRUG CARTELS

The lead contributor to the violence in Mexico is suffocating in its
own cloud of smoke.

Stringent in its attempt to win the war on drugs, the U.S. continues
to drown itself in a haze of ignorance.

The media has ignored the situation in Mexico, as it has in many other
nations plagued with internal conflict in the past. Six thousand
Mexican civilians died last year due to escalating tension between
drug cartels, but the only prevalent issue covered involving Mexico
was illegal immigration.

The pressure to cover issues like the violence in Mexico is minimal
until the increasing death toll forces the world and the U.S. to listen.

For months, the only news regarding Mexico and the U.S. was the image
of Mexicans crossing the border illegally. While Americans wanted a
wall to keep them out, a civil uproar was beginning and we didn't even
pretend to care.

Perhaps the wall is a good thing. Maybe it can keep the violence
contained within Mexico and we can just go about our daily lives here
in the U.S.

Except, that won't happen. Unlike dealing with catastrophes in Sudan
and other far away regions, Mexico is too close to turn a cold shoulder.

Not to mention, more importantly, that the U.S. is the reason for this
upheaval.

The U.S. continues to consume 60 percent of the world's drugs. As the
states continue to forge the war against drugs, the only thing
changing is the unstable condition of Mexico.

According to the Los Angeles Times, former Mexican President Ernesto
Zedillo issued a report urging the U.S. to consider legalizing
marijuana. While we have been through this debate repeatedly, at every
instance the proposition is negated. It simply isn't just a matter of
stopping kids from getting high anymore.

Stemming far beyond any potential health risks marijuana imposes are
the atrocities that will only get worse in Mexico that will eventually
spill into the U.S. considering the economic exchange between the two
countries. Due to an extremely profitable illegal drug economy, drug
cartels will continue to take matters into their own hands. They will
use whatever means to protect their routes into the U.S. so that
Americans can have their drugs and they can have their profit.

Americans will always have their drugs. No matter how hard we try to
fight this imaginary war and no matter how much money we pump into the
system, there is a demand for the product.

Clearly, the violence is not contained in Mexico. Secretary Marisella
Molinar, who lived in El Paso, Texas but worked in Mexico, was killed
last December when driving across the border. Her boss, who had asked
Molinar to drive him into the U.S. to go Christmas shopping, was one
of the targets on the Mexican drug cartel's list that day. The report
of her killing months ago only surfaced in the news this week.

While most students are just disappointed they can't go to Cabo San
Lucas for spring break, Americans should be aware of the implications
this war has to them as well.

The unrest, caused by the demand for drugs within the U.S. and the
perpetual war on them, is sure to continue.

Even if by some chance marijuana was made legal in the country within
the next couple of years, the transition would surely create another
rift in Mexico. Nevertheless, it is a decision that not only people
from the U.S. want, but that innocent people from Mexico need.

Legalizing marijuana could curtail unnecessary violence that could
plague Mexico and the U.S. for years to come.