LEGALIZE DRUGS TO END COSTLY WAR

The Mexican war on drugs has been a contentious issue from the outset.
Many have spoken for and against the war, but a commentator of
particular note is former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who recently
announced that he no longer believes in the prohibition approach.
Instead, Fox argues that the best way to fight the drug trade is to
legalize the sale of illegal drugs. Honestly, he makes a rather
convincing case.

Make no mistake -- Fox does not just mean decriminalization, rather, he
favors full legalization. He raises some very salient points regarding
the failures of the war on drugs. In an interview with Time Magazine,
Fox stressed the tremendous financial costs of waging a war on drugs --
including how much Mexico has suffered from a dwindling tourism
economy as a direct result of the war on drugs. He also addressed the
psychological toll it has had on Mexican citizens.

Fox brings to light a series of serious reasons to reject the war on
drugs, in favor of a more tolerant approach to drug use. If illegal
drugs are legalized and regulated, the Mexican government could save a
lot of money which it will no longer have to expend on fighting drugs.
The government could also levy taxes on the sale of such substances,
which would bring more money. The tourism economy in Mexico could
recover in the absence of fierce fighting between the government and
cartels. Considering these possibilities, Fox's proposed approach to
the war on drugs could serve to dramatically bolster Mexico's
financial state.

Not only does Fox's approach help Mexico from a monetary perspective,
but it would also serve to help the aforementioned psychological
problems from which Mexican citizens are suffering. If the war ends,
and the drug trade becomes government-regulated, Mexican citizens
could feel safer and, therefore, happier on the whole.

Also, consider the benefits a legalized drug trade could have for
people who have drug problems already. Take, for example, The Chapel
Street Program, which ran a clinic in Liverpool until 1995. This
clinic dispensed free heroin and cocaine to addicts and also offered
them rehabilitative services. As a result of the clinic's actions, the
neighborhood in which it operated experienced severe reductions in
crime rates and severe upturns in successful addiction recovery rates.
Fox's plan would allow for such clinics to operate in Mexico as well.
In fact, clinics of this type could operate even more freely and
successfully in a country where drugs have been legalized.

While we certainly feel that legalizing every drug is too extreme a
step -- certain substances are just too dangerous, regardless of
government regulation -- we do see a lot of merit to Fox's proposition.
Perhaps America should reconsider its stance on the war on drugs as
well.