AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

10,780 dead and counting.

That number, undoubtedly far outdated by now, is the casualty count in
Mexico's drug war from December 2006 through May 2009, according to
the Associated Press. It captures, in the clearest terms possible, the
most important storyline of the inter-American drug war: The American
drug fascination carries steep consequences for people in less
fortunate parts of the world.

Duke students would do well to consider their own lives and choices in
light of these realities.

Too often, college students defend their own experimentation with
drugs on the grounds that such use only affects them. Therefore, the
reasoning goes, their use of allegedly "innocuous" substances such as
marijuana is perfectly justifiable.

In an alternate universe, this could be an intriguing view. But in
this one, it is dangerously wrong.

Particularly at this University, we like to talk a big game on social
responsibility. It's the impulse that motivates action on the various
humanitarian causes students commit themselves to, both during the
school year and during summer trips overseas.

Yet, according to Tom Szigethy, associate dean and director of the
Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention Center, the 2008 American
College Health Association Survey for Duke showed that 26.4 percent of
students have sampled marijuana at some point. Moreover, at least 12.8
percent of Duke men and 8.3 percent of women have used the drug with
some frequency in the previous 30 days, Szigethy said.

The disparity with Duke's social responsibility ethic is jarring.
Although these numbers are lower than the national average (14.5
percent of students using drugs in the previous 30 days), Duke can do
better.

This belief in the "innocuousness" of marijuana use is especially
tragic before the sheer ugliness of the cartels that supply the
American drug market. More than drugs, these cartels traffick in fear.
Acts of carnage are designed to horrify the public and pressure
elected officials to cave in the drug war, so that they might see a
respite from the constant bloodshed. Beheadings, hangings and mass
executions-with mutilated bodies left strewn in streets and school
yards-are commonplace in parts of Mexico. Revenge killings have
specifically targeted children of police officers and government
officials prosecuting the war. Other times, civilians are simply
caught in the crossfire.

The inconvenient truth is that all this, from the weapons to the
organizational costs, is paid for by the American drug habit. No
discussion of the drug wars in Latin America is complete without a
serious investigation of the role of consumer demand in this country.
The tremendous profit margins presented by the overwhelming U.S.
demand for marijuana plays a significant role in creating the
incentives for drug cartels to bring their business north.

To be sure, the link between individual drug use and Latin American
murderers is "long and windy," said Capt. Ray Taylor of the Durham
Police Department's Special Operations division. "[Drugs go] from one
person to another, [and] by the time it gets to someone on your campus
who is going to use it, it has changed hands [many] times."

Still, Tayor noted the influence of organized crime. "Obviously, the
drugs have to come from somewhere," he said. "You can imagine where
the drugs must come from.. Marijuana from South America or Mexico or
homegrown stuff. It takes some organization to create a supply network
to get that actually up here. Just common sense tells you that
organized crime is going to be involved in there."

Many will retort that the drug market thrives because of the legal
status of drugs such as marijuana, by far the No. 1 drug used by
Americans, according to the AP. Now, debates over legalization of
drugs are legitimate and have a place in the public discourse. But
they are irrelevant when discussing the ethics of recreational
marijuana use. Whines about legalization are an excuse, not an argument.

The bottom line is that drugs are illegal now and any discussion of
their ethics must be grounded in the universe of current realities and
consequences. Individual drug use feeds into a demand stream that
supplies money and resources to some truly horrible criminals. These
traffickers commit gruesome acts of violence and destabilize
governments in countries beyond our day-to-day attention span.

Whether or not students use drugs with full knowledge of these
consequences, the simple fact is that they are facilitating the
activity of drug cartels.

Actions have consequences, even when inconvenient. No drug-induced
high is worth another dead Latin American child.