Mexico Rethinks the War on Drugs

Overrun with violence and massacres, Mexico is now considering whether having its own War on Drugs is worth the devastation it has caused.

"A debate about legalizing marijuana and possibly other drugs — once a taboo suggestion — is percolating in Mexico, a national exhausted by runaway violence and a deadly drug war.

The debate is only likely to grow more animated if Californians approve an initiative on Nov. 2 to legalize marijuana for recreational use in their state.

Mexicans are keeping a close eye on the vote, seeing it as a bellwether.

"If they vote 'yes' to approve the full legalization of marijuana, I think it will have a radical impact in Mexico ," said Jorge Hernandez Tinajero , a political scientist at the National Autonomous University .

Discussion about legalization flew onto the agenda last month, the outcome of President Felipe Calderon's pressing need to win more public support for waging war against criminal organizations profiting hugely from drug trafficking."

Just like in the US, in Mexico massive amounts of money are spent by the government to stem the use of narcotics. However, the effort in Mexico is generally aimed at preventing the trafficking of drugs up to the US, while in the US the War on Drugs is also aimed at stopping their use.

Mexicans have paid a steep price for playing along with the US and trying to do their part to stop Americans from using recreational drugs. Criminal gangs have taken over large parts of the country and have engaged in open wars with the government, leaving thousands dead in recent years.

However, even if Mexico makes drug use in their own country legal, if the US does not follow suit with similar laws making consumption legal here, it's very possible that Mexican criminal gangs will still have a role to play in moving drugs into the US.

The US should have a similar period of introspection and consider whether making drugs legal here would be in our best interests as a whole.

As unpalatable as the use of drugs is, it is generally a victimless crime, no different in many cases than the consumption of alcohol.

The War on Drugs has become a fiasco on many fronts (government waste, needless deaths, personal liberty), and the sooner it ends, the better off we will all be.