Basic economics confirms it. When you limit the supply of a product without decreasing the demand for it, the price of said product will always go up.
Therein lies the inherent flaw of drug prohibition. The more the authorities try to crack down on illicit substances, the more rewarding it becomes to deal in drugs. Maybe that’s why the Mexican Army was caught trafficking cocaine by the ton.
Few governments are more heavily involved in the futile war on drugs than the United States, who’ve poured a small fortune into drug prohibition every year for decades. With so much funding behind an entity built upon a flawed policy, it should come as no surprise when new heights of foolishness are met.
Take, for example, the US-led drug campaign in Columbia. Despite destroying food crops, poisoning the land, and exasperating Columbia’s political instability, America’s drug policy has had zero adverse effect on the flow of narcotics out of the country.
So, you ask, what is America’s latest bonehead move in the war on drugs? Unfortunately, the answer is “providing guns for drug cartels”. That’s right, the United States government has been arming Mexico’s criminal organizations.
Operations approved by the US Justice Dept. and carried out by the ATF permitted large quantities of weapons to pass unhindered from the US into the hands of Mexico’s criminal underground.
Once they reached their destination, these arms caused a noticeable spike in shootings, with one of the weapons being directly involved in the death of a US Border officer.
The stated goal of this plan was to track these guns and pinpoint some of the larger gangs. The actual goal could be something far more sinister: increase the threat of drug related violence in the hopes that more funding will be allocated to fight this growing threat.
See, there’s big money to be made in perpetuating armed conflict around the world. As long as there are enemies to fight, governments can justify billion dollar contracts to anyone who promises protection from the evil.
Those entrenched in drug enforcement have little incentive to even consider ending prohibition. If they did, they would follow Portugal’s lead, where complete decriminalization of drugs is proving a resounding success.
Sadly, just as we cannot wait for someone in the ‘defense’ industry to tell us when war is over, neither can we wait for the drug czars to call off the war on drugs. Instead, it is up to us – the informed public – to mount enough pressure to ensure the establishment caters to our collective voice.
