At some point, you'd think we'd have the sense to legalize all these substances that the cartels trade in to cut crime and drain them of their money and power.
Yeah, like Google is into much more than advertising now. Taking out drug money would be a massive crimp in their style. In fact, I'd be surprised if it wouldn't pretty much destroy their style, and suggestions to the contrary are just given by the government to continue the drug war.
No, of course not. But choosing to smoke a joint is a victimless crime, as is choosing to abuse cocaine or any other substance. Most of the problems with these substances are caused by the fact that they are illegal and are forced into black markets.
We could discuss the social harms of substance abuse all evening, but at the end of the day I'm not harming anyone when I take a puff in the comfort of my own home.
> But choosing to smoke a joint is a victimless crime,
Well, except for all the murder involved in growing and shipping it. But except for that, yeah. I guess if you live in a legal or medical state it's possible to get murder-free pot. But I haven't smoked pot for 25 years for this and a small handful of other reasons.
I'm not saying we shouldn't legalize drugs; we should, for this and other reasons.
But that's not going to kill the cartels, they have other interests. I don't even think it would affect their style all that much because it wouldn't happen suddenly, it will be state by state, with the Fed finally going along after it's de facto legal everywhere.
While that gradual process plays out, as it is in fact doing right now, the cartels will just shift their focus elsewhere. Gradually. I think what's more likely is that the Mexican oil industry, and other cartel interests, will long for the days of illegal drugs.
If the drugs have the widest popular consumer base, legalization might still be a potent weapon because it reduces the degree to which people who aren't deeply involved in the other things the cartel does are dependent on the cartel and subject to manipulation by them; my understanding is that ending alcohol prohibition in the US -- while it didn't, by any stretch, destroy the organized crime groups that were powered by it, did substantially weaken them for similar reasons.
