1929crash Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 MEXICO CITY -- An explosion of drug violence in Mexico has killed hundreds of people in the past five days and prompted the country's president to issue a 5,000-word manifesto warning that the fight against organized crime must continue "or we will always live in fear." As the latest spasm of killing has spread across the country, cartel assassins, local thugs and federal troops have died in running gun battles, highway ambushes and prison melees. On Tuesday, shooting broke out in the popular tourist town of Taxco, south of the Mexican capital. Mexican army troops, acting on a tip, raided a house and a firefight ensued, leaving 14 gunmen dead. The string of grisly attacks since Thursday has included the execution-style killing of 19 drug addicts in a rehabilitation clinic and several assaults targeting police, including an ambush this week that killed 12 federal officers. In an editorial printed in newspapers nationwide Monday, President Felipe Calderón defended his drug war as vital to the country's security. More than 23,000 people have died in drug-related violence since December 2006, when Calderón first sent the Mexican military into the streets, according to a government report. The president directly blamed the United States. "The origin of our violence problem begins with the fact that Mexico is located next to the country that has the highest levels of drug consumption in the world," Calderón wrote. "It is as if our neighbor were the biggest drug addict in the world." The cartels, he said, have grown rich and bold -- fed with billions of dollars from the United States. Experts estimate that $10 billion to $25 billion in drug profits flow to Mexico each year from the north. About 90 percent of the cocaine consumed in the United States passes through Mexico, which also smuggles at least half of the marijuana and methamphetamine sold in U.S. cities. Meanwhile, many of the weapons the cartels use, including grenades and military-style assault rifles, are smuggled into Mexico from the United States. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061503174_pf.html It's time the insane war on drugs was ended. Across the globe far more people fall victim to organised drug gangs than to the prohibited substances themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AThirdWay Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 It's time the insane war on drugs was ended. Across the globe far more people fall victim to organised drug gangs than to the prohibited substances themselves. Not that I disagree with your sentiment, but that is a bold statement. Care to back it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/15/AR2010061503174_pf.html It's time the insane war on drugs was ended. Across the globe far more people fall victim to organised drug gangs than to the prohibited substances themselves. +1 How many more decades of violence will it take for governments to realise that prohibition doesn't work, and it never has done? Treat all drugs the way we do alcohol and tobacco and you not only wipe out drugs cartels overnight, you get the added bonus of huge revenues for the government coffers. Win/win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest theboltonfury Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 +1 How many more decades of violence will it take for governments to realise that prohibition doesn't work, and it never has done? Treat all drugs the way we do alcohol and tobacco and you not only wipe out drugs cartels overnight, you get the added bonus of huge revenues for the government coffers. Win/win. Surely though, these horrific gangs keeping their own numbers down by infighting is a good thing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Surely though, these horrific gangs keeping their own numbers down by infighting is a good thing? I'd rather the profits went to building new hospitals and schools than providing some nasty Columbian with another hot tub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 What goods legislation if most of the legislators are bought and paid for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Surely though, these horrific gangs keeping their own numbers down by infighting is a good thing? In many areas, the only people visible with money and/or power are the drug barons. Hence you are unlikely to run out of recruits.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Surely though, these horrific gangs keeping their own numbers down by infighting is a good thing? What goods legislation if most of the legislators are bought and paid for. In many areas, the only people visible with money and/or power are the drug barons. Hence you are unlikely to run out of recruits.. Surely decades of malinvestment into drug production and export have skewed (and screwed) the local economies to produce these gangs? Bit like BTL, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolf Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Not that I disagree with your sentiment, but that is a bold statement. Care to back it up? Hardly anyone dies from drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AThirdWay Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Hardly anyone dies from drugs. That is a bold statement. Care to back it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rolf Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 That is a bold statement. Care to back it up? No, I don't care to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Surely decades of malinvestment into drug production and export have skewed (and screwed) the local economies to produce these gangs? Bit like BTL, really. Keeping drugs illegal does little to reduce demand.. but it does help to push up the price and move the centers of production further away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffy666 Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 That is a bold statement. Care to back it up? Hardly anyone, relatively speaking, dies from illegal drug use in the first world... (although due to the drugs being illegal there is a large amount of property crime and social problems) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Keeping drugs illegal does little to reduce demand.. but it does help to push up the price and move the centers of production further away. You think that's a good thing? If so, why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Hardly anyone, relatively speaking, dies from illegal drug use in the first world... Yep I would agree with that. If you look at the sheer number of people that use them on a regular basis ? The related deaths are miniscule. Take the adverts for Cocaine. All about possible strokes and heart attacks and sudden death. Yet how many people actually die this way each year ? And how many hundreds of millions of times is the drug taken by people in the UK every year ? The risks must really be very small. Yet of course the public are not to be told this. The advert says you are 18 times more likely to have a heart attack or the likes if taking cocaine. However the same is probably true for running a marathon* !! * I am not sure of the details but you get the drift. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 There are no recorded deaths from cannabis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest theboltonfury Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 There are no recorded deaths from cannabis. Bruce Lee? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Noodle Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 There are no recorded deaths from cannabis. Quorky's brain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Bruce Lee? Not according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Death Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Quorky's brain? Back off farang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest theboltonfury Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Not according to Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee#Death There are plenty of people who appear to be dead due to its use... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccc Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 There are plenty of people who appear to be dead due to its use... Working in some Office's could be said to have a similar effect. And no I am not joking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northwest Smith Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 The money must go to the police because without them there would be more competition and lower prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Woods? Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Yep I would agree with that. If you look at the sheer number of people that use them on a regular basis ? The related deaths are miniscule. Take the adverts for Cocaine. All about possible strokes and heart attacks and sudden death. Yet how many people actually die this way each year ? And how many hundreds of millions of times is the drug taken by people in the UK every year ? The risks must really be very small. Yet of course the public are not to be told this. The advert says you are 18 times more likely to have a heart attack or the likes if taking cocaine. However the same is probably true for running a marathon* !! * I am not sure of the details but you get the drift. Except of course alcohol and nicotine, which are serious killers... A dozen or 2 dozen deaths a year due to E - Given the number of pills taken each year, it seems like a very safe option in comparison to the legal highs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest X-QUORK Posted June 16, 2010 Share Posted June 16, 2010 Source: Nutt D, King LA, Saulsbury W, Blakemore C (March 2007). "Development of a rational scale to assess the harm of drugs of potential misuse". Lancet 369 (9566): 1047–53. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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