Financial Aid to Mexico is Delayed

The drug war in Mexico continues between government officials and the cartels - the cartels have the upper hand. Mexico has been virtually taken over by the ruthless and violent cartels fighting for control over distribution and trafficking routes throughout Mexico. The United States continues to promise aid in the way of training, technology, and especially modern weaponry; at least that way Mexican officials would stand a little bit of a chance. With over a 100,000 foot soldiers and billions of dollars to support their cause, the cartels are too powerful to stop with the help of the United States; unfortunately the support needed is not being provided in a timely manner, and the cartels continue tightening their grip around the good people of Mexico. The United States has the most powerful military in the world possessing the best technology and the most modern weapons; during the Bush administration we promised Mexico help when the Merida Initiative was signed, which would give Mexico a $1.3 billion assistance package promised to Mexico. "The initiative funds aircraft and surveillance equipment to track and break up trafficking networks, as well as vehicles that can manage the terrain where cartels sometimes operate. It also provided funds to improve police ranks, weed out corruption and bolster the courts", according to USA Today. Unfortunately, that financial aid to Mexico is delayed by a bureaucratic mess.

Yet to Arrive:

• Up to eight UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters for the air force and federal police.
• Up to four Casa 235 Persuader surveillance airplanes for the navy.
• Up to eight Bell 412 helicopters for the Mexican air force.

The companies that produce these fine pieces of equipment are saying that it will take 12-18 months to manufacture these goods. It is hard to believe that this equipment is only manufactured when there is an order, the U.S. military could certainly part with a few of their own for such an important cause. Nevertheless, until the support arrives in Mexico the cartels will continue to hold on to control. We have to ask ourselves, how long do we want this war to continue?

Cartels Face Economic Battle With California Pot Growers

In Northern California the growing of Marijuana has been a way of life for many families for a long time. The number of "Mom-and-Pop" grow operations are countless, and the number is becoming larger every day. The Washington Post states, "stiff competition from thousands of mom-and-pop marijuana farmers in the United States threatens the bottom line for powerful Mexican drug organizations in a way that decades of arrests and seizures have not, according to law enforcement officials and pot growers in the United States and Mexico". With more than half of the marijuana smoked in the United States now being grown domestically, it has become a serious burden upon the Mexican cartels. Now, the cartels face an economic battle with Californian pot growers!

The majority of all pot, up until recently, was grown in Mexico and Columbia; this allowed the cartels to maintain dominance of the trade for many years. Now that laws in the United States are becoming more relaxed as we approach potential legalization, the U.S. growers are severely cutting Mexican profits. "While the trafficking of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine is the main focus of U.S. law enforcement, it is marijuana that has long provided most of the revenue for Mexican drug cartels. More than 60 percent of the cartels' revenue -- $8.6 billion out of $13.8 billion in 2006 -- came from U.S. marijuana sales, according to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy", reports the Washington Post. Cutting as much as 60 percent of the cartels profit could do great things for the war on drugs. It is yet to be seen if this trend will hold, but, it seems very likely.

Marijuana is an addictive drug and should not be overlooked or even considered a good thing compared to other drugs. However, the war on drugs continues and the death toll keeps rising. If legalizing marijuana is what it takes to fight the cartels, then it should be something everyone in America considers long and hard. In almost half a century we have not been able to come up with any kind of solution that has worked in curbing the cartels in their deadly game. It may be time to consider what is the lesser of two evils; growing and consuming marijuana or countless dead bodies? No matter what, a solution to the drug war needs to be found.

California and Mexico are Testing Grounds for Revolutionary Ideas Regarding Drugs

A shift can be seen in mindsets around the world regarding illegal drugs! As the world nears the end of the first decade of our new millennium, poverty stricken and facing a drug pandemic, a lot of changes in policy and in the way people look at things are happening. California and Mexico are testing grounds for revolutionary ideas regarding drugs, both republics want change despite the fact that it may fail and come back to hurt them in the end. California is on the brink of legalizing Marijuana and Mexico just legalized small amounts of essentially any drug for personal use. It seems as if these two Republics are willing to try anything to counter their ongoing struggles, i.e. California's budget crisis and Mexico's drug war. I neither condemn nor condone their attempts at trying revolutionary tactics in order to enact change. Something had to give, old ideas and mentalities are not cutting it, and so drastic measures appear to be in order.

All of this change may appear to be surrender on Mexico's part and a form of cynicism on California's, which may be the case; however, there may be room for success with regards to legalization issues and these changes could possibly do more good than harm. It has been clear for a very long time that prison does very little, if any, to help the addict and if anything it only slows the addict's progression but does nothing to curb the disease. Without proper education by way of drug treatment people who have had drug convictions stand very little chance of not returning to the drugs upon release. In Mexico, under previous laws, possession could lead to long jail terms. Mexico now views drug abuse as a "social and public-health problem rather than a law-enforcement issue", which will open up space in prisons and leave available resources to pursue the drug cartels - according to Mexican officials. According to government statistics, the number of addicts in Mexico has risen by more than 50 percent in six years; Mexico who has supplied the United States with drugs for a long time is just now seeing their own domestic drug problem and treatment seems to be more effective than prison.

In the California arena the problem crisis at hand has more to do with the budget and Assemblyman Tom Ammiano proposes full legalization of marijuana with regulation and taxation. A proposed tax of $50 per ounce is estimated to raise $1.3 billion annually. "According to one poll, 56 percent of California voters support such a plan. There also are three initiative efforts in California to put marijuana-legalization measures before voters in November 2010.", reports the Arizona Republic. People will smoke marijuana regardless of the fact that it is illegal, that being said, perhaps the argument for legalization is sound.

It is impossible to predict the direction all this new legislation will take us. Certainly, both Mexico and California are sailing into uncharted waters with failure lurking on the horizon. Drastic times call for drastic measures, time will tell if this shift in policy will be the lesser of two evils. Mexico needs to lower the murder rate and California needs to boost the economy, it will be interesting to see the results of their efforts. A lot of questions and very few answers at this point!

Mexico Legalizing Drug Possession

A new law was passed on Thursday, August, 20, 2009, decriminalizing small amounts of drugs for personal use in Mexico. The drugs that fall under this new act include: marijuana, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and even LSD; the only requirement is that the amounts be under a certain weight that has been agreed upon by the Mexican government. According to the Associated Press "Mexican authorities said the change only recognized the longstanding practice here of not prosecuting people caught with small amounts of drugs". If a person is caught with drug amounts falling under the set limit they will be encouraged by authorities to seek treatment; however if caught a third time treatment will then be mandatory even though Mexico has not stated any penalties for noncompliance. Mexico legalizing drug possession raises some very serious questions considering that they are currently in the grips of a serious drug war as we speak. If the government is supposedly trying to stop the cartels from producing and distributing drugs, it seems counterproductive that they would legalize the cartels main source of income.

The new drug law went into effect on Friday, August 21, 2009, and will set "the maximum amount of marijuana considered to be for “personal use” under the new law at 5 grams — the equivalent of about four marijuana cigarettes. Other limits are half a gram of cocaine, 50 milligrams of heroin, 40 milligrams for methamphetamine and 0.015 milligrams of LSD". It took several months before before President Felipe Calderón would approve this new law. What kind of message is he trying to send to the world by doing this? A mixed message certainly, and one that can only have a devastating effect on Mexicans as well as Americans who travel to Mexico. If they could not enforce laws before they became legal how do they propose to do it after the fact? There is no way that this new law that sets limits on the amount one can be caught with will have any sway on the mind of a drug addict.