COMMON SENSE IS THE ANSWER

Decriminalizing pot better than sending our troops into danger

Drug cartels are responsible for murdering 6,300 in Mexico last year
and even more will be killed in 2009.

Law enforcement has broken down in border cities like Juarez and
Tijuana, where police are told to either take bribes or take a
bullet. Public officials are beheaded along with journalists who dare
criticize drug lords.

Thousands of Mexican troops have moved into hot spots where they are
outgunned and out-maneuvered by well-funded gangs. According to a
story in the San Francisco Chronicle, the U.S. Joint Forces Command
considers Mexico's government in critical danger of failing.

The violence is so bad President Obama is considering moving National
Guard and Army troops to the border.

The Associated Press and Chronicle also report that problems extend
far beyond the border. Gangs have moved marijuana-growing operations
into national parks in Northern California, where they poison streams
with fertilizers and pesticides. Mexican citizens are kidnapped to
work the fields as slaves and gang members have threatened anyone
crossing their paths.

An AP story published Friday told how cartels are recruiting U.S.
teenagers to roam major cities and gun down competitors.

The Mexican government shares some of the blame for this explosion of
violence. A tradition of corruption runs deep in law enforcement and
the military. Tough action has been slow to come.

But the root of the problem is U.S. demand for drugs such as cocaine
and marijuana. Washington's War on Drugs tries to stem the flow with
enforcement that drives up prices and generates untold wealth for drug lords.

Years of harsh prison sentences and billions of dollars have done
little to stem U.S. consumption. The answer is to remove the reason
for proliferating violence: profit.

Imagine what would happen if marijuana were decriminalized and
smokers could buy their high from a nearby farmer or grow a few
plants of their own.

Cities and states could collect taxes from pot rather than spend
dollars trying to enforce antiquated drug laws -- statutes that even
prohibit growing hemp varieties that are cheap renewable sources for
rope, clothes, food and oil-based products.

Cocaine is another matter entirely. But removing penalties from
marijuana use and possession would cut problems by more than half.

Decriminalization is a common-sense solution here, and it's far
better than sending our troops to face drug lords' bullets.