Apr 17 2009
Drug Policy or Drug War –A Bunch of Smoke and Mirrors
President Obama during his re-engagement trip to Mexico, yesterday, makes reference to how the Drug War is “sowing chaos.” What a clever idiom. What chaos was the President referring too? It appears the chaos is certainly related to the smoke and mirrors Drug War/ Drug Policy that is conveniently re-postured or represented according to the politics of the day. To add more smoke to the chaos, Obama, facing potential opposition across the aisle and with assault weapon owners, takes a different tack. The ploy though, creates a subterfuge pertaining to gun control; with the potential of sowing more chaos by creating discord amongst the proponents of an assault weapon ban and their counterparts. Stop for a moment and think about the faulty logic of the President’s purported solution. Stop the flow of illegal weapons across the border? If we have not been successful in all these years with stopping the flow of illegal drugs between Mexico and the United States, then why would you think we could stop the illegal flow of weapons across the same border?
In a related story yesterday, CNN’s Morning Anchor, Kiran Chetry interviewed former Arizona Governor and current Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napoliano regarding drug violence in Mexico; and the government’s position on legalizing marijuana as a counter measure to undermine the Mexican drug cartels. In that interview Napoliano mirrors the government’s position that they clearly will not be considering such a move. A few months though, Drug Policy was full of smoke (how appropriate is that). If you are like millions of Americans you remember the comments made by Presidential Candidate Obama, when running for the office he now holds, when he stated, “I would not have the Justice Department prosecuting and raiding medical marijuana users. It’s not a good use of our resources.” Of course, as a master of idioms, this did not mean he would support legalizing marijuana. However, along the campaign trail he did say, in a conversation about his mother’s cancer, that he felt [Marijuana] should be treated as a health issue rather than a criminal justice issue. Moreover, he took the position that it should be a states’ right to regulate and LEGALIZE marijuana; controlling it in the same manner as other prescribed drugs. Again, there is the idiom and smoke; because he didn’t say he would legalize marijuana; but that it should be fine for states to do that if they so choose. In late February, we heard US Attorney General Eric Holder attempt to validate the administration’s position on yielding jurisdiction in marijuana matters to the states. Holder also reinforces the smokey policy by indicating that the feds would not be busting marijuana dispensaries (with the disclaimer, unless they are violating some other laws). A week later we saw the feds raiding a medical marijuana dispensary in San Francisco, citing some non-specific violation of law.
The fact is that regardless of whatever moral issues an individual may or may not possess with regard to the legalization of marijuana, the evidence certainly supports that such a measure would decrease the violence; which the President is pinning on the illegal flow of assault weapons from the US to Mexico. The Former Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico, Andres Rozental , who was being interviewed by FOX News reporter Glenn Beck, shared the statistics that 60% of the drug problem with Mexico is related to marijuana exports from Mexico to the US and the sales thereof. Rozental compared the statistics with the effects of prohibition in the United States, and the history of how lifting prohibition substantially shut down the mobs and criminal gangs of that time. Sixty percent is huge. In fact, we don’t have to go back to prohibition … I think a fitting analogy can be drawn by looking at the America’s Big Three Automakers. They are going bankrupt. This is the result when you lose your market share. You go out of business. Auto dealerships across the country have gone out of business recently. According to reports at MotorIntelligence.com nearly 52% of all new autos purchased in the United States during 2008, were imports; leaving the Big Three to carve up the remaining 48%. If they had to cut out another ten percent of their market share, do you think it would strengthen their likelihood of staying in business? The answer is obvious. From a business standpoint you will see the logic that if you don’t own the market and you cannot sell your product, you cannot stay in business.
The clear message is that the US Drug Policy or Drug War equates to business as usual for the drug lords in Mexico; and fear mongering as usual from our government leaders. What is not quite as clear is if the CHANGE platform reminiscent of the past election is an idiomatic CHANGE of smoke and mirrors.
