First, if the drugs were decriminalized, then their price could find it’s appropriate level, comparable to other ingested commodities, such as bananas and coffee. Once the hugely inflated price of the drugs has settled down, then the huge profits that spur the drug cartels to action would also diminish, and with it the incentive to carry on as usual. But drugs are a high end illicit commodity, so it is only natural that they get most of the attention. If they weren’t so lucrative, then the cartels would migrate to some other lucrative item most likely, or resort to extortion or kidnapping for a living.

The other factor is the pay scale for law enforcement in Mexico. Local police are paid squat, so there is a huge incentive to cooperate with the cartels just to make a living. The Federal Police are paid somewhat better, but what the gangs offer is very tempting because this would be added onto what they are already making. Corruption is rampant in Mexican law enforcement; it has been a way of life for so long that officers tend to assume that bribes are how they make up the difference between their pay and their needs.

It is hard to see a real solution to all of this, since unemployment and poor pay are everywhere in Mexico. The Mexican economy, which is largely based on oil export at the Federal level, will soon experience the loss of much of this income. This will certainly exacerbate the problem.

But, alas, this is one of the rather fundamental problems of our federal government. It is so large and powerful that it does not admit to the possibility that there are tasks that are beyond even its prodigious powers.

Meanwhile the drug war will continue to rage on until we try something different than just more of the same.

Very good points on Canada, by the way.

Regards,

Kim G
Boston, MA