Is The War On Drugs About To End?

A Nicaraguan smokes a joint of marijuana in a poor district of the port of El Bluff. Campaigners say such areas are perfect for drug barons to cash in on people with few expectations. Photograph: Oswaldo Rivas/REUTERS

War On Drugs: Why The US And Latin America Could Be Ready To End A Fruitless 40-Year Struggle -- The Guardian

Mexico's president Felipe Caldéron is the latest Latin leader to call for a debate on drugs legalisation. And in the US, liberals and right-wing libertarians are pressing for an end to prohibition. Forty years after President Nixon launched the 'war on drugs' there is a growing momentum to abandon the fight

The birthday fiesta was in full swing at 1.30am when five SUVs pulled up outside the house. Figures spilled from the vehicles and ran towards the lights. They burst into the house and levelled AK-47s. "Kill them all!" A shouted instruction, only three words, and the slaughter began.

Gunfire and screams drowned the music. Some victims were cut down immediately, others were caught as they tried to escape. By the time the killers left there were 17 corpses, 18 wounded and 200 shell casings. Among the dead was the birthday guest of honour, a man local media named only as Mota, Mexican slang for marijuana.

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My Comment: With the bloodshed from the drug wars now approaching 30,000 in Mexico alone, the debate is now evolving towards how best to legalize drugs, with the government regulating (and probably selling) these products. This development is not a surprise .... everyone is now of the opinion that prohibition has not worked, and that alternative strategies and policies must be formulated.

Unfortunately ..... I personally believe that this debate is ignoring the consequences if drugs becomes legalized and regulated by the government. The reason why is that this is not the first time we are having this debate. All drugs were legal in the U.S. a hundred years ago, but the catastrophic impact of drugs being made available to the public made everyone realize (at that time) that prohibition was necessary to stem the exponential growth of drug addiction and the problems that are associated with it.

Are we going to repeat our history to a pre-prohibition era .... from my vantage point I will have to say that it is only a matter of time.