Huckleburry
Member
Last week the economist published a report on the state of the Pan American drug war. http://www.economist.com/World/la/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3651694
The article reported more of the same. While are ability to disrupt the production of drugs continues to increase the average street price (a measure of supply) remains stable or decreases with the quantity demanded remaining constant. Thus is would seem that we continue to win the battle and loose the war. One disturbing trend is the increased use of Bolivia as transport hub indicating that the drug war continues to spread.
The United States should end the ineffective war on drugs by decimalizing them. Moral arguments aside, this policy would serve the national interest in several ways. First, the war on drugs decreases the stability of the region by providing financial support to paramilitary and terrorist organizations. The most notorious of which is FARC. A violent Colombian Para military group that receives its funding almost exclusively through their control of the Cocaine trade. If the US decriminalized drug use then drug production would enter the formal economy. Competition would increase profit margins would be squeezed and the drug trade would cease to be a source of funding for Terrorist and Para military groups. Eliminating their funding would decrease their power and increase regional stability.
Regional stability would allow the United States and Latin America to form an economic block potent enough to oppose the growing threat from the Asian and European economic blocks. Forming a pan American block would allow the United States to defend her economic interests abroad because the size of her markets would make the cost of non-negotiation very high. This is to say that the enormous size of the Pan American market would increase the negotiating power of the US because few nations would be willing to risk having those markets closed.
Lastly decriminalizing drugs would do much to eliminate violent crime and corruption through out the Americas. A nasty byproduct of the war on drugs is drug related violent crime and corruption. Take for example the case of Mexico. The drug war there leads to rampant corruption and violent crime as syndicates war over market share.
The United States needs a stable America. We need an honest America. We need an America with which we can oppose the rest of the world. With this end in mind it is time we end a war that is opposed to our national interest.
The article reported more of the same. While are ability to disrupt the production of drugs continues to increase the average street price (a measure of supply) remains stable or decreases with the quantity demanded remaining constant. Thus is would seem that we continue to win the battle and loose the war. One disturbing trend is the increased use of Bolivia as transport hub indicating that the drug war continues to spread.
The United States should end the ineffective war on drugs by decimalizing them. Moral arguments aside, this policy would serve the national interest in several ways. First, the war on drugs decreases the stability of the region by providing financial support to paramilitary and terrorist organizations. The most notorious of which is FARC. A violent Colombian Para military group that receives its funding almost exclusively through their control of the Cocaine trade. If the US decriminalized drug use then drug production would enter the formal economy. Competition would increase profit margins would be squeezed and the drug trade would cease to be a source of funding for Terrorist and Para military groups. Eliminating their funding would decrease their power and increase regional stability.
Regional stability would allow the United States and Latin America to form an economic block potent enough to oppose the growing threat from the Asian and European economic blocks. Forming a pan American block would allow the United States to defend her economic interests abroad because the size of her markets would make the cost of non-negotiation very high. This is to say that the enormous size of the Pan American market would increase the negotiating power of the US because few nations would be willing to risk having those markets closed.
Lastly decriminalizing drugs would do much to eliminate violent crime and corruption through out the Americas. A nasty byproduct of the war on drugs is drug related violent crime and corruption. Take for example the case of Mexico. The drug war there leads to rampant corruption and violent crime as syndicates war over market share.
The United States needs a stable America. We need an honest America. We need an America with which we can oppose the rest of the world. With this end in mind it is time we end a war that is opposed to our national interest.
