LEGALIZING POT IS A BETTER WAY TO END MEXICAN DRUG CARTEL PROBLEMS
THAT AFFECT THE U.S.

Thomas Bowman's article "Buying Marijuana Supports Violent Drug
Cartels and Instability in Mexico" caught my interest, because the
author seems to blame the drug war exclusively on one drug, and
advocates a solution that apparently overlooks the merits of an
alternative solution that seems obvious to me.

Mexican drug cartels are supported by more than marijuana sales. They
are a major supplier of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.
Therefore, eliminating the demand for marijuana alone will not
eliminate their incentive to stay in business. So why only emphasize
pot in the article?

I understand why the author advocates reducing demand, since any
reduction in demand for the cartels' product offering may help weaken
them. However, the article's preferred method is idealistic and
unlikely to work.

Besides failing to focus on all drugs the cartels profit from,
advocating abstinence from marijuana will not eliminate demand,
because many people will ignore the request. Marijuana use is
well-integrated into American culture, and appears to be increasingly
accepted, rather than less accepted.

Secondly, legalization would be a much more effective way to address
the marijuana demand that benefits drug cartels. The government could
eliminate illicit sales by legalizing, regulating and taxing the drug.
However, popular support for legalization is likely to wane if
abstinence were popular or framed as the only acceptable solution.

While I do not condone the use of marijuana or using drugs for any
non-medical purpose, I do not think that any harm generated by
legalizing pot would outweigh the benefits of removing a significant
source of drug cartel profit. By contrast, I think the harm that would
be produced in legalizing other drugs, such as cocaine or heroin, far
outweighs the benefits of legalization.

Although I disagree with the article on the points discussed above, I
appreciate the author's concern over the issue, and his effort in
discussing it publicly.

JP Earnest

(JP Earnest is a non-degree-seeking student at UMW.)