YOU AND THE DRUG WAR

Upwards of 6,300 people were killed last year in Mexico due to the
violence of drug cartels, and since the beginning of 2009 there have
been at least 15 drug-related deaths per day in Ciudad Juarez. The
city has become one of the most dangerous on the Mexican border,
according to a March 23 Reuters article. Even though both Mexican and
U.S. governments have increased the presence of law enforcement along
the border, the violence continues.

Increasing efforts to enforce drug abstinence is a short-term solution
to the war on drugs. For addicts, stopping drug use isn't a viable
option without support and rehabilitation, and as long as addicts and
occasional or social drug users demand drugs, drug cartels will be
ready to supply.

Though I don't believe drug use is necessarily immoral or unethical,
consuming an unnecessary product that is produced in an unethical way
certainly is. Quitting will require some sacrifice, but just as
clothing consumers are indicted by the abuses of sweatshops and
meat-eaters are indicted by the horrors of factory farms, drug users
are indicted by the violence in Mexico and other countries around the
world. As Hillary Clinton rightly admitted on her recent trip to
Mexico, the U.S. demand for drugs fuels the trade and adds to the
conflict and suffering. So unless you know for a fact that your weed
is produced, transported and sold peacefully, there could very well be
blood on your hands. The least you can do is stop using for now.

However, legalization is the only long-term solution. According to the
2006 National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health, about 15
percent of all Americans surveyed reported drug use in the past year,
and 8 percent had used drugs in the past month. It is unreasonable to
think that law enforcement and public service announcements alone are
enough to stop this widespread use.

The Economist noted in a March 5 article that "there is no correlation
between the harshness of drug laws and the incidence of drug-taking:
citizens living under tough regimes (notably America but also Britain)
take more drugs, not fewer." Additionally, Carson B. Wagner, a UT
assistant advertising professor, found that anti-drug ads that the
U.S. spends hundreds of millions of dollars on per year actually make
teens more interested in trying drugs. As much as we might like to get
everyone off drugs, the government's best efforts are not working. The
solution is not more of the same.

Legalization would end the drug wars by allowing the drug trade to
operate freely and openly. The industry would be subject to regulation
and taxation, and the government could use the tax revenues to fund
drug education, treatment facilities and programs to make drug use
safer for addicts, such as the distribution of clean needles. As long
as tax rates and regulations were not so onerous as to encourage the
development of black markets, legalization would eliminate the terror
now inflicted by cartels and drug lords.

Overall drug use might increase, but as The Economist pointed out,
that seems unlikely.

People do not have a sacred right to take recreational drugs, but they
do have a right to live. The current prohibition on drug use is
deadly. It's time for people -- legislators and consumers alike -- to
take a new stance on drugs -- one that keeps the welfare of others in
mind.

Martin is a Spanish and religious studies sophomore.