The War Next Door

Submitted by Bill St. Clair on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 19:46:27 GMT  <== Politics ==> 

Time Magazine's July 11 issue highlights the effects of the war on some drugs in Mexico, attempting to answer "Why Mexico's drug violence is America's problem too". I sent the following:

Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2011 15:36:18 -0400
Subject: Letter to the editor
From: "Bill St. Clair" <billstclair@gmail.com>
To: letters@time.com

Of course Mexico's drug violence is America's problem. Our prohibition caused it, by artificially raising the prices of inexpensive vegetables, giving organized crime a very profitable, if illegal, business. You'd think alcohol prohibition would have taught us that.

Jorge Castaneda hinted at the solution in his July 11 essay. I'll say it clearly. Legalize recreational drugs, all of them, and those organized criminals will be out of business overnight. Of course, many of America's sheriff's departments will be in trouble, too, since they depend on asset forfeiture money (armed robbery under color of law) to supplement their budgets. And we'll have to close lots of prisons, putting that whole support structure out of work. Good. Let them find productive employment.

Bill St. Clair

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