In an Associated Press article “Mexico’s drug law worries U. S. police; Decriminalizes drug possession”, San Diego Police chief William Lansdowne is quoted as saying “For a country that has experienced thousands of deaths from warring drug cartels for many years, it defies logic why they would pass a law that will clearly encourage dug use.” The article points out that “Brazil and Uruguay have already eliminated jail time for people carrying small amounts of drugs for personal use…Arengentina’s Supreme Court ruled out prison for pot possession Tuesday.”
The New York Times reports “In February, a commission led by three former Latin American presidents issued a scathing report that condemned Washington’s ‘war on drugs’ as a failure and urged the region to adopt drug policies found in some European countries that focus more on treatment than punishment.”
WATCHDOG: Chief Lansdowne fails to recognize that it is the very illegality of mild drugs such as marijuana that creates the unregulated marketplace which results in crime, violence and corruption. If marijuana were taxed, regulated and controlled as we do the sale of far more dangerous alcoholic beverages, about 70% of efforts to suppress drugs would be eliminated and both savings and tax proceeds would be available for treating the small portion of the population struggling with various forms of drug addiction (including alcohol and nicotine) and for other good purposes.
