Is It Time To End The War On Drugs?

The war on drugs creates and environment that ensures that tens of thousands of people die annually. Hasn't it gotten to the point where criminalizing drugs has done more harm than the drugs ever could?

The War on Drugs is the reason Operation Fast and Furious was conceived. It’s also behind the deaths of 50,000 innocent Mexicans over the last five years, the deaths of 10,000 Americans each year, the imprisonment of 1 million Americans each year and the spending of $44 billion of taxpayer funds annually.

Mexican drug cartels create $39 billion in profits yearly through the trade of illicit substances such as marijuana. It is obvious prohibition does not make the drug lords’ costs of doing business high enough to dissuade them from engaging in this business. To the contrary, the policy itself permits the cartels to profit handsomely from many people’s deaths. By restricting the supply of drugs artificially, prohibition raises prices and pads criminal monopolists’ bottom lines.

In essence, $44 billion from U.S. taxpayers subsidizes $39 billion in profits for Mexican drug cartels.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/06/21/the-reason-fast-and-furious-happened/#ixzz1yWXfktut