As the cycle of frustration, anger, and violence spiraled upward on all sides of the drug conflict in the United States and other countries, anguished cries for resort to the military and the death penalty and other extreme measures were heard in the highest councils of government. To what extent should we override the traditional democratic Anglo-American prohibition on the use of the military (or military tactics) to enforce laws passed by civilian authorities, in this case, the drug laws?

To what extent should we apply the death penalty to those involved in the drug trade?