Everywhere you look, it is just so obvious that the drug war is making Mexicoâs problems worse, not better:
How much more of this can the Mexican people withstand? The number of refugees may soon grow exponentially as it becomes increasingly clear that there is no plan to stop the violence, or rather, that the plan currently in effect is exactly whatâs causing the problem. As bad as things already are, the potential for greater bloodshed and disorder is virtually limitless and it seems weâre now marching forth into a true test of wills as the drug war faithful must behold and somehow defend the unfathomable disaster theyâve created.
It stands to reason that there exists a threshold beyond which the insanity of the drug war cannot be sustained. This has to stop somehow, because it really is as bad as the drug warâs critics have long maintained. I believe we may be witnessing the emergence of a tipping point at which the totality of drug war destabilization, festering for decades, has now exploded all over the map. Calderon canât turn back without admitting the drug warâs failure, nor can he push forward without placing in great jeopardy the very foundations of the society heâs sworn to defend.
We are witnessing the deadly consequences of a failed international drug strategy. The virus of prohibition that entered the sociopolitical bloodstream decades ago is now shutting down vital organs and inflicting damage that wonât soon heal. It cannot be allowed to continue as it has for so long. This must end and although legalization isnât a magical or perfect solution, it is at least something that can be tested and manipulated to maximize benefits and minimize harm.
Already, the most apocalyptic visions of drug legalizationâs legacy pale in comparison to the nightmare of prohibition that smolders right in front of us. It may soon become very difficult for our opponents to continue presenting reform as the dangerous, frightening approach to the drug problem.
A record number of Mexicans are fleeing to Canada, claiming their own country cannot keep them safe as it struggles to contain a grisly narcotics war that is spilling into nightclubs and restaurants.
There are currently 9,070 Mexican refugee claimants waiting to have their cases heard, the largest number yet from one country since the Immigration and Refugee Board was established in 1989.
â¦
The brutality is intense: human heads lobbed into discos; bound men found asphyxiated in cars; shootouts in shopping centres in the middle of the day. In September, grenades were lobbed at a public celebration of Independence Day in Morelia, a colonial town about 240 kilometres west of Mexico City, prompting some to call it "narco-terrorism" as the victims were civilians. [Globe and Mail]
How much more of this can the Mexican people withstand? The number of refugees may soon grow exponentially as it becomes increasingly clear that there is no plan to stop the violence, or rather, that the plan currently in effect is exactly whatâs causing the problem. As bad as things already are, the potential for greater bloodshed and disorder is virtually limitless and it seems weâre now marching forth into a true test of wills as the drug war faithful must behold and somehow defend the unfathomable disaster theyâve created.
It stands to reason that there exists a threshold beyond which the insanity of the drug war cannot be sustained. This has to stop somehow, because it really is as bad as the drug warâs critics have long maintained. I believe we may be witnessing the emergence of a tipping point at which the totality of drug war destabilization, festering for decades, has now exploded all over the map. Calderon canât turn back without admitting the drug warâs failure, nor can he push forward without placing in great jeopardy the very foundations of the society heâs sworn to defend.
We are witnessing the deadly consequences of a failed international drug strategy. The virus of prohibition that entered the sociopolitical bloodstream decades ago is now shutting down vital organs and inflicting damage that wonât soon heal. It cannot be allowed to continue as it has for so long. This must end and although legalization isnât a magical or perfect solution, it is at least something that can be tested and manipulated to maximize benefits and minimize harm.
Already, the most apocalyptic visions of drug legalizationâs legacy pale in comparison to the nightmare of prohibition that smolders right in front of us. It may soon become very difficult for our opponents to continue presenting reform as the dangerous, frightening approach to the drug problem.
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