LETTER OF THE WEEK

HOW TO FIGHT DRUG CARTELS

Two days ago, during a political discussion about border problems
toward the end of a Sierra Club outing to look for Taylor's
checkerspot butterflies at the Beazell Memorial Forest in Oregon, I
mentioned that the Mexican drug cartels have won. There is
insufficient political and financial will to launch an effective
fight against those gangs.

I first heard this opinion from Charles Bowden in his book titled
"Dreamland: The Way Out of Juarez." Bowden wrote that the society in
that city has gone through a metamorphosis and is now governed by drug cartels.

Today's Arizona Daily Star online has an article titled: "Mexican
drug gangs assuming government roles." If you want to read it, click
this link:
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/article_6f4c5a30-e69b-5626-8471-9b20caa59c25.html

The solution: legalize drugs and tax them, just like cigarettes and alcohol.

When the prohibition of alcohol was repealed, organized crime lost a
major source of income and the number of violent crimes plummeted. It
is obvious that present U.S. drug prohibition is not working.
Continuing ineffective action is costly and does not solve the
problem. It actually creates problems of overcrowded jails and
courts. The drug cartels' domination spills over into the U.S.'s
southwestern communities and includes law enforcement corruption.

Living in the Southwest became much more risky during the past
decade. Oregon is way less dangerous than Arizona, only due to the
distance from Mexico.

Ricardo Small, Albany

Pubdate: Tue, 10 May 2011

Source: Albany Democrat-Herald (OR)