LEGALIZE DRUGS, TAKE SMUGGLERS OFF FORBES LIST

Forbes Magazine just named one of Mexico's most notorious drug cartel
leaders, Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman, as one of the world's richest
people. He's worth an estimated $1 billion, ranking him as the 701st
wealthiest person on Earth.

As a retired federal officer with over three decades of service, many
of those years spent fighting America's "war on drugs," I see
Guzman's riches as a scalding condemnation of our nation's failed
drug policies.

Guzman's 2001 prison escape and ability to outwit four major
government manhunts between 2002 and 2007 show that the current
prohibition approach doesn't exactly keep bad guys off the streets.

According to Forbes, Guzman is "one of the biggest providers of
cocaine to the United States." Certainly his earnings are gained by
selling drugs, but another part of his job description is killing
people. Across Mexico, since the start of last year, some 7,000
people have been killed in illegal drug market violence. Guzman's
enforcers from the Sinaloa cartel are blamed for thousands of these killings.

Last year, President Felipe Calderon began using Mexico's military to
fight the drug cartels on his side of the border. The proposed
solution to the increased drug war violence is more soldiers, more
guns and more money, including hundreds of millions of dollars in
assistance from American taxpayers.

Fighting these drug cartels with guns and money will only serve to
escalate the violence and increase illegal profits. It doesn't matter
how much money or ammunition we throw at the drug trade, someone is
going to earn this profit. And when we kill him, the next guy will
take over, kill more citizens and earn more cash.

What other sign do we need? Forbes is the definitive authority on the
world's financial elite and has clearly documented the rampant riches
these violent gangsters are raking in.

Remember Pablo Escobar? He was the Colombian drug kingpin whom Forbes
said held $3 billion before police killed him in 1993. Did we end the
drug trade and violence in Latin America by killing him? No. Now we
have Shorty Guzman.

So, is there a solution to the problem of drug market violence in
Mexico and the U.S.? Absolutely. We should end drug prohibition.

Based on what I saw on both sides of the border over my career,
legalizing and regulating drugs is the only surefire way to end the
cartel violence that is terrorizing Mexico, Afghanistan and other
countries, including our own.

Legalization won't be a cure-all for the problems of drug abuse. What
legalization can do, however, is take a $500 billion a year industry
away from the control of gangs and international drug cartels.

Legalization will improve both our economy and national security.
When we legalized alcohol 75 years ago we put gangsters like Al
Capone out of business. Legalizing drugs today will save money and
hurt cartels' and terrorists' bottom lines, instead of placing them
on the Forbes list.

Thankfully, more and more people are starting to realize this.
According to a recent Zogby poll, three out of four Americans now say
the "war on drugs" is a failure, and more think legalization is the
best option than think stopping drugs at the border or eradicating
drugs in their countries of origin will work.

It is essential to open a meaningful dialogue about prohibition and
that we discuss the realities of America's ongoing "war on drugs" to
determine how to win and not just continue to play the game.

My experience as a federal agent tells me that drug trafficking
causes so many unintended consequences that it must be controlled.

If we legalize and regulate the marketplace, economic rules will work
in our favor, making it possible to instill control. It is time to
fund education, research and treatment instead of jails and prisons.
We all want a better future for our children and ourselves.