Most of us don’t see the bodies piled in mass graves or drug cartel-related shootings. Those are a world away, across a fence about 2 ½ hours south of Long Beach.
Though we hear about Americans and Mexicans being killed at the hands of drug cartels in the border areas of Mexico and the United States, our response as concerned citizens seems to have been “don’t go to Mexico.”
Never mind that drug cartels are coming into the U.S. and killing American citizens. For some reason, preventing adults from acting as they choose is worth billions of dollars and thousands of human lives. It seems that the “moral” case for drug prohibition has been placed higher than human life.
The situation is so out of control in southern Arizona that the federal government has posted signs along Interstate 8 warning travelers of violent drug and human smugglers.
The message I receive from these signs is “the government can no longer protect you.”
If that doesn’t scare us into taking action on our border and drug issues, I don’t know what will. For some reason, the federal government is content with pleasing the anti-legalization lobby instead of protecting life within our borders.
It is surprising that politicians and police officers don’t often draw a parallel between drug prohibition and alcohol prohibition. I would bet that if these lawmakers and law enforcement officials lived during the prohibition of alcohol or saw the carnage their peers see in Mexico, they would feel quite differently about the war on drugs.
By forcing drugs into mainstream society, we would allow those who use drugs to buy from licensed growers and manufacturers. I think it would be unlikely that users would go to an untrustworthy dealer to get their fix rather than go to a legitimate retail outlet. Mass production would likely follow legalization, allowing cheaper, superior products to enter the marketplace.
Many arguments against the legalization of drugs stem from the fear of the unknown. Because we have never lived in a time when drugs were legal, it is understandable that many are skeptical of full legalization.
It is easy for the anti-legalization crowd to create doomsday scenarios that play into our fears. But look at Amsterdam and Portugal. Both these entities have legalized or at least decriminalized some drug use. And last time I checked, neither of them has plunged into drug-induced anarchy. American lawmakers either are ignorant or conveniently overlook these real world examples of looser drug policy.
Full legalization is not the only step to ending the loss of human life and the destruction of thousands families. There are several things that need to happen such as increasing border security and immigration reform to help end the lucrative trade of smuggling both drugs and humans across the border.
Without drug legalization, there is little chance of ending the massive bloodshed. If people want a product, they will get it no matter what it costs. As long as drugs are criminalized, the violence will continue and the blood will be on our hands.
Stuart Schmidt is a senior Recreation and Leisure Studies major and a contributing writer for the Daily 49er.
