The Flash
Mexican Cartel Deeply Entertwined With American DrugsFriday, May 18, 2012 By Elias Alba
A few weeks ago, a border town in Mexico set a record - on one Saturday, no one was murdered. This may seem pedestrian at first, but just days ago, 49 mutilated, decapitated bodies were found dumped carelessly on the side of a Mexican highway, brutally murdered. And worse - this isn’t too out of the status quo. These ridiculous happenings are caused by multiple things, but topping the list, is American greed. 90% of the inflow of illegal drugs into America is done by Mexican drug cartels. The use of illegal drugs such as marijuana, an action now socially acceptable and in some cases assumed, feeds this violence and this brutal war. The stuff that people from Rocklin smoke all the time is the cause for mothers losing sons, families losing parents, sisters losing brothers. Some border towns average an incredible 15 murders daily. Police can do nothing but collect the body and take the next call. Moving from crime scene to crime scene. Most of these deaths are run uncensored in the local newspapers, showing severed limbs, decapitations, and the death that plagues the country. American border patrol officers are now trained with the methods used in the military, now that the cartels can afford weapons that could easily overpower regular police forces. In the past five years, U.S. authorities have confiscated nearly 70,000 firearms, with numerous more untouched. Border patrols regularly obtain hundreds and even thousands pounds of expensive drugs. Unfortunately, many many more drugs end up in the USA. In Juarez, Mexico, a border town that has been called “The Murder Capitol of the World”, the violence is almost incomprehensible. In May, the death toll reached 10,000 murders since 2008, if that were Rocklin, almost one out of every five people would have been murdered. The reason for all this death, all this suffering, of course is money. American money. Spare change in America that could potentially support families in Mexico. There areas in Mexico that are all but abandoned by the military. Areas where drug lords have such strong control, that even police and military don’t stand a chance of coming within miles of the main buildings. All of this is funded by the drug trade. There of course is no absolute solution to this horrendous problem. Legalizing Marijuana is a good step, but will not solve everything, and could possibly make some things even worse. However, since smoking marijuana is already common, legalization would do little to help the situation. If the US Government were to tax marijuana instead of arrest people for it, tax profits would most likely rise, and prison populations would undoubtedly drop. One possible reason this has not happened, is that most Marijuana is not grown in America. Meaning that we would be importing yet another resource, possibly putting us more in debt. However, there are plenty of areas in America that are perfect for growing marijuana, so that could help. Farmers in the Middle East are paid large sums of money to grow opiates, the base drug for heroin. Opiates grant much higher profits than other crops such as corn or rice, and make the farmers much richer. This principle could be used in America, if American farmers start growing marijuana profits could increase, lowering the national debt. Overall, there is no instant remedy for this problem, and the cause is not likely to stop. This international problem is fed by corruption, and by the American public’s need for weed. |