U.S. Pot Legalization Should Be Discussed: Mexican Ambassador

As the bodies pile up on the Mexican battlefield, where rival drug cartels war against each other and the Mexican military, the government there is increasingly looking for an exit strategy.

Contrary to their public image, a major source of revenue for the cartels comes from the marijuana trade. Precise numbers are obviously hard to come by, but some U.S. government drug policy officials estimate that more than half of drug cartel revenue comes from the pot business -- meaning it may be more accurate to refer to them as "marijuana cartels."

Taking pot revenue away from the cartels could significantly weaken them, leading some leading Mexican officials to suggest legalizing and regulating the trade. The Mexican ambassador to the United States, Arturo Sarukhan, became the latest on Sunday to call for the United States to seriously consider legalizing its appetite for marijuana.

"This is a debate that needs to be taken seriously, that we have to engage in on both sides of the border: both in producing, in trafficking, and in consumption countries," Sarukhan said on CBS's "Face the Nation" Sunday, when asked about legalization.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently made international news by finally admitting that U.S. demand for drugs fuels violence south of its border. Earlier, former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo all joined together to push blame for the drug war on the United States.

Ryan Grim is the author of This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America.

Comments

[copesthetics]

legalize it, yeah ... and i will advertise it

[Tom Zart]

I tried alcohol; and smoked cigarettes
Though, they did nothing, but give me regrets.
My mom had arthritis and couldn't walk around
When I rolled her a joint, she danced on the ground.

I thought I was losing my lovemaking knack
But, after I smoked some, to me it came back.
Soon I decided prices were too high
So I searched for some ground I wouldn't have to buy.

I bargained for seeds from smokers all around
Then, got in my truck and drove out of town.
I walked through the woods where the wild birds nest
And found me the meadow I thought was the best.

I dug up the ground and sowed all my seeds
Then said a small prayer for strong, healthy weeds.
I watered at night with a five-gallon pail
The mosquitoes went hungry for I wore a veil.

Seven months went by; I thought I would die
Till the Halloween moon was high in the sky.
One night I went out, in my camouflage suit
And used a corn knife to chop down the loot.

I hung it up to dry where it couldn't be found.
Then came back and got it, when it had turned brown.
I trimmed off the buds, and stuffed them in bags
Called all my friends and passed out free drags.

In less then a week, my crop was gone!
But, I flew to St. Thomas with love-hungry blond.


By Tom Zart
Most Published Poet
On The Web

[fumes]

worth reposting:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1657827965975839596&hl=en

enjoy!!

[whereisjeff]

I really cant believe we're still even debating this. Over 15,000 studies on cannabis ave been done over the years and not one has ever found a single person that died as a result of smoking pot. I challenge anyone to find a single case where pot made someone commit a violent crime too. And all the experts say pot is less addictive then coffee and all the bogus propaganda telling us pot kills brain cells and is bad for you was complete BS.

And the reason it's still illegal has nothing to do with the radical right wing conservatives either. This is about MONEY. Period. Pharma cant patent a plant or a cannabanoid molecule and wont be able to make billions using it as medicine. Big Oil and chemical companies know hemp will cost them billions too. Plus there's a lot of people that have a financial interest in keeping the unjust and failed War on Drugs going.

Obama, promised to bring rationality back to DC. That policy would be made based on science and reality. Well cannabis prohibition is not only a violation of our rights, but the cost is too severe to society. Let's see if Obama lives up to his own ideals and does what everyone that knows anything about this issue says needs to be done; END PROHIBITION!

[Jeff Newman]

so well said.
end the ridiculous prohibition on cannabis and hemp before 2010 across the americas.

[pmaddams]

To get marijuana legalized, support has to come from the grassroots, not from the president. Meaning that Congress has to fully appreciate the importance and urgency of the issue to do anything about it, and that message must come directly from the people. Lobby your Congressperson! Let's write letters, make calls, do whatever it takes to be heard by our representatives. Enough is enough!

[Ma Ratl]

First thing that needs to be done is to quit calling it a drug.

Was God wrong?

King James Bible
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

[stargazer13]

last but not least I say

SAVE THE SEED THAT WILL SAVE THE PLANET !!

and this time make it legal once and for all

[stargazer13]

if you legalize it then how will the C.I.A. fund there black ops

[4Ply]

Legalize it and then tax the crap out of it. Prohibition was a huge failure too. People found a way to get their illegal drug (liquor) then, they find ways to get their illegal drugs now. Many much more dangerous than pot.

On a side note: what's with college students smoking dried salvia these days? My neice has partaken of it. She and her friends call it 'the hooch.' Again, if you want to get high, you'll find a way.

[breakfast]

Check out the idiot, Uribe, running Colombia. He now wants to criminalize pot possession for personal use. Wonder how that will work out?

[Bcasey11]

The drug war won't end, how will private prisons get slave labor

[freethinking moderate]

The judicial system is predicated on illegal drugs. Sure, the economy might improve with legalization, but think of all that money that police departments will no longer be able to control. Stealing people's property and selling it for profit is a cash cow for many police departments, a cash cow that they will not let go of easily.

[stargazer13]

you mean private prisons for profit .

I watch a program on them there private prisons and they are building them really really good

must be they think that some one will try to help some one get out is the only reason in my mind that they build them to be B**m proof

[mergina]

Absolutely. Think of the Revenue gained rather than lost battling ourselves to keep it illegal. You might as well make oregano and rosemary illegal if you are hell bent on keeping marijuana illegal.

[WorkingClass]

Legalizing pot is a no brainer and Obama has plenty of brains. He must be a coward.

[deannaortiz]

after a couple of trips to amsterdam i've gotta admit i completely agree. its totally possible to responsibly regulate it. they do. furthermore its statistically proven to be less damaging than alcohol physically and in terms of keeping social peace. how many violent stoners have you met? but you know it will never happen. people are far more conservative than we think and the blanket drugs are bad attitude always prevails. people are scared of the unknown and unwilling to try new things most of the time. oh well. good thing i live in europe and flights to the Dam are cheap :0)

[ErikW65]

To be fair, he made the committment not to spend federal money on fighting states that decriminal­ize/legali­ze. So cowardice is just too strong. A federal legalization would still allow for states to keep it illegal anyway, just as there are still dry towns.

[Scar1]

What this Ambassador needs to do is let Mexico know just because we are indebted to you that does not mean we will be pushed into legalizing Mary Jane or putting up with border mess either. The Ambassador needs to give Mexico a reality check. Mexico is runned by Drug Lords not the President. He is just a figure head with no power anymore. They are so busy with drugs they forget about the people and the people run here for fear of their lives from the Cartel. This is worse than the Pirate situation in the Horn of Africa. When gansters take over their is no negotiation other than deal with your own problems and the US will not support a bad habit.

[Oldchef]

You make no sense Scar1, and may I suggest Spellcheck.

[JulieCarol]

So...if the Drug Lords can't sell MJ (because it's legal here), they have no money, then they wouldn't run the country.

[Scar1]

No! No! No! and No! Legalizing it will not solve the problem. It will only make some already bringing drugs in illegally very rich and fat.

[LazarusLong]

Actually, it would take the profits away from the black market and allow open, competitive trade.

Those who will get "fat and rich" are the American merchants lucky enough to get the licenses to sell (similar to the liquor licensing process).

[deannaortiz]

AMEN AMEN AMEN!! thank god you guys have said it. saves me some typing. :0)

[filo]

If it were grown legally in the US there would be no need to bring it in from Mexico. It would give American farmers another cash crop. Keeping it Illegal is making the Mexican cartels rich and fat.

[rjhuntington]

Sorry, that makes no sense. Legalizing marijuana is precisely the way to remove the illegal market and all profits from it, overnight.

[mpeachhead]

Exactly. How will it make persons bringing it in illegally rich? They are already rich. If American farmers can grow it legally, why would anyone import an inferior product from Mexico?

No one wants to smoke cheap, harsh Mexican weed. People are forced to because the DEA arrests everyone growing it in America. I live in rural South Georgia. During late summer and fall, helicopters constantly patrol our skies, attempting to spot these plants. Consider how pissed off I was last summer when gas prices were $4 a gallon, and I could barely afford to drive to work, yet here are my tax dollars being wasted by the DEA hoping to bust some poor farmer trying to make an extra buck.

[areaman03]

What will solve the problem, Scar? Let me guess...we can create a federal agency to combat the drug trade and enforce the existing drug laws...we'­ll call it, er...I've got it! The Drug Enforcement Adminis--NO! Agency! The Drug Enforcement AgencY! (Or DEA for short!). AND everyone we catch with pot, whether they're selling it or smoking it...we'll throw 'em in jail! If we do that long enough, we'll put everyone who uses or sells drugs in Jail--which will ultimately make everyone else afraid to use or sell drugs, and the problem will just go away! It's almost too easy!

[rushislame]

Yes Yes Yes Yes... You make no sense... At lest 50% (which is probably low) of thier funding comes from mary jane sales. If we legalize it; it will cut off the major contributor to these Mexican gangs, save the US billions of dollars on finding arresting and imprisoning US citizens for an herb, and let us not forget about the billions in tax revenues that would be created... Alcohol and ciggarettes bring in an enormous amount of tax revenue, this would do the same. You talk about a stimulus package. Billions saved while collecting billions in taxes.... Eventually we are looking at trillions of dollars..

They should tax it, regulate it, and begin producing it in large amounts all across the nation. Why let the states do it individually, that will just take longer to reap the benefits..­.

We are supposd to be a free country, correct????