WHY LEGALIZING MARIJUANA IS GOOD FOREIGN POLICY FOR U.S.

Considering that I'm a Republican who has never smoked marijuana in
my life, and don't ever care to in the future, I'm probably not the
most likely candidate for supporting the legalization of marijuana.

However, the state of the war on drugs has forced me to conclude that
the legalization of marijuana is good foreign policy.

According to the BBC, our insatiable desire for drugs has left 18,000
Mexicans dead since 2006, as drug cartels lash out with ever
increasing violence.

Furthermore, this violence has spilled over into the U.S., with
children in border towns and beyond, hired as hit men for the cartels
and American citizens murdered by cartel members.

Must an entire country suffer because of our demand for this illegal
substance? Will we wait until more U.S. and Mexican citizens die
until we do something about it?

With the legalization of marijuana, the drug that makes up "more than
half of the revenues of the Mexican cartels," according to an article
by David Luhnow of the Wall Street Journal, money would be diverted
away from the pockets of drug kingpins and instead would fuel the U.S. economy.

Cartels would then struggle to make up for the loss in revenue, and
it would be burdensome as they strive to regain cash flow levels seen
before the legalization.

Without the steady income of years past, the cartels would have less
leverage than they did before -- having less money to bribe police,
soldiers and politicians, for example. In addition, cartels would
have to invest more money into production of other drugs or tear
themselves apart in competition for dwindling profits.

It might not be a permanent solution to the problem, but at least it
will be an inconvenience for the drug traffickers as they are forced
to find new ways to make profits.

Let me make it clear that I've seen old friends almost die from the
use of heroin and cocaine, and I would not be able to support the
legalization of truly destructive drugs like those two.

However, the potential health benefits of marijuana, combined with
the fact that it's relatively less harmful, make it a drug that can
be legalized without as much of a moral dilemma.

Furthermore, it has been clear for some time now that the war on
drugs has done little to solve the drug problem or the crime and
violence associated with the trade. We must do something other than
maintain the current policy that has torn an entire nation apart, and
on that, we can all agree.

This could be the policy that finally breaks the tragic status quo.