Drug war when will it end

[Contented]

I watched a video today on Mexico's drug war. The danger people face is horrifying. Corruption of the police. People literally living in fear. Parents who have lost children. It is alleged that the criminals fire power is just as great as that of the police.

Why is it that there is such an insatiable desire for drugs in the USA. There could not be a viable drug trade...UNLESS there was a market for it. One thing is sure, Mexico's people continue to live in fear it looks as though there is no meaningful solution in sight. Tears came to my eyes when I saw mothers weeping for their children. (Some might add PERHAPS the children were involved) I don't know, but however we look at it the danger is real. When you add the sex trade and the drug trade it is a dangerous combination.

 

[Volokh]

drug war never end

 

[Paradoxum]

When drugs are legalised.

 

[Theofane]

When people stop doing drugs.

 

[Fenny the Fox]

"Drug wars" can be ended: by ending the laws forcing drug use underground.

Just as the prohibition era made crime rings what they are now, the drug laws are keeping them there. If there is a law against a commodity, then there will be an underground market for that commodity - and, inevitably, that underground nature comes with the added danger of crime organizations and corruption to keep it moving.

If the USA decriminalizes or legalizes the use of drugs such as marijuana, we will see a lessened need for such import that leads to the establishment of Mexican and South American drug lords as we have now. Allowing marijuana to be grown and sold, legally, in the states will drastically lower the amount incoming from other countries. Not to mention, the legalization and taxation of such drugs, as done with cigarettes or alcohol, could lessen [if a very small amount) the tax burden/debt crisis overall.

On top of the decrease in import, judging by other nations that have decriminalized drug use, we may well see an overall drop, of major proportions, of drug use in the first place. Portugal for instance, has seen this happen:
Ten Years After Decriminalization, Drug Abuse Down by Half in Portugal - Forbes
Thereby further reducing the need for underground, or legal, import of drugs.

 

[Paradoxum]

When people stop doing drugs.

When humans aren't humans?

 

[Theofane]

If heroin and crystal meth were legalized, would they cease to be such awful life-destroying substances? Legalizing these hard drugs won't change the effects they have on addicts and the families of addicts and society in general.

Legal =/= Harmless

The South American drug cartels might starve to death if their North American markets dried up suddenly, but I think that would be underestimating their greed and ruthless business ethic.

 

[DailyBlessings]

I don't think the drug wars would exist if the country were more stable in the first place; the cartels cement their influence by stepping into vacuums of power and organization. I wonder, sometimes, what all these "mission trips" that Americans like to go on are actually doing, because even en masse they don't seem to vastly improve the living situation of even those in the border towns. But it is an easier problem to fall into than to escape. I disagree that the drug market is the driving factor, in the end, because there's always something like that for the evil-minded to ply their trade in. The same cartels ship wage slaves into the US, for instance. And I certainly hope we're not about to legalize that!

 

[Fenny the Fox]

If heroin and crystal meth were legalized, would they cease to be such awful life-destroying substances? Legalizing these hard drugs won't change the effects they have on addicts and the families of addicts and society in general.

Legal =/= Harmless

Nothing will make them less dangerous or life-destroying. But ending the criminal charges on users and pushing more treatment possibilities would make them less of a social problem, overall. Which is just what has happened in Portugal - they have been able to treat addicts more openly and effectively now that no criminal charges are made on drug users and possessors.
The effects will still exists for the families, but it is easier and safer to seek help and treatment, and for families to push that upon addicts than when they must risk legal action for doing so.

 

[Theofane]

When humans aren't humans?

Exactly.

 

[Schneiderman]

If heroin and crystal meth were legalized, would they cease to be such awful life-destroying substances? Legalizing these hard drugs won't change the effects they have on addicts and the families of addicts and society in general.

Legal =/= Harmless

The South American drug cartels might starve to death if their North American markets dried up suddenly, but I think that would be underestimating their greed and ruthless business ethic.

Actually, legalizing them would in fact make them less harmful. I don't feel like taking the time to do a full write up on it but basically, anything illegal enters the market unregulated, uncontrolled, impure. Legalize it, regulate it, provide oversight in its production and distribution, and you will have a safer product, no matter what it is. Illegal moonshine is more likely to be unreasonably dangerous than alcohol produced legally under regulatory oversight.

When you buy "heroin" illegally, there is no guarantee that you are even getting heroin. You could be getting Fentanyl, and if you use fentanyl thinking it's heroin you will probably die. If heroin was legalized and available for purchase from a legitimate company, this danger would not exist. Same goes for any other illegal drug: they are made more dangerous precisely because they are illegal.

 

[HakeemSupreme]

Actually, legalizing them would in fact make them less harmful. I don't feel like taking the time to do a full write up on it but basically, anything illegal enters the market unregulated, uncontrolled, impure. Legalize it, regulate it, provide oversight in its production and distribution, and you will have a safer product, no matter what it is. Illegal moonshine is more likely to be unreasonably dangerous than alcohol produced legally under regulatory oversight.

When you buy "heroin" illegally, there is no guarantee that you are even getting heroin. You could be getting Fentanyl, and if you use fentanyl thinking it's heroin you will probably die. If heroin was legalized and available for purchase from a legitimate company, this danger would not exist. Same goes for any other illegal drug: they are made more dangerous precisely because they are illegal.

Then you factor in the staggering price drop which will allow people to maintain some semblance of a life and not have to turn to petty/violent crimes to gain capital to feed a habit and you have another win.

Don't get me wrong - they'll become husks of people but at least they wont be robbing you with a dirty syringe.