Today the Providence Journal (Rhode Island's news source of record) has
endorsed ending drug prohibition altogether.
http://www.projo.com/opinion/editorials/content/ED_mexico30_03-30-10_SPHTMB0_v53.405b040.html

It's full of gems.  Some favorite quotes:
"The U.S. funds both sides of this war."
"Americans must take over this business, and the only way that they can do
that is by legalizing these drugs - and heavily taxing them."
"Even if legalization were to increase drug use, that risk is overshadowed
by the benefits."
"The war on drugs is futilely repeated year after year after year. Let's
stop the insanity. Legalize these illicit drugs and treat their abuse as the
medical problem it is."
--

Silver or lead?
Editorial
Providence Journal, RI
March 30, 2010

America is in three wars now, and the one that most threatens its domestic tranquility is not the conflict in Iraq or the one in Afghanistan. It is the drug war in Mexico that has been shaking that country to the core.

The recent killings of a U.S. consular official, her husband and another consulate worker — assumed to be the work of Mexican drug gangs — crosses another line in the violent chaos that runs along the border. Some 18,000 Mexicans died in drug violence last year.

Ciudad Juarez is Mexico’s most dangerous city, a bridge away from El Paso, Texas. Over 2,600 people were murdered there last year. The violence included drug traffickers firing into a crowd at a teenagers’ party, killing 15 young people not linked to any gang.

The U.S. funds both sides of this war. Its people pay for the drugs (mostly marijuana, cocaine and heroin) that enrich the criminals, and for law-enforcement officials trying to stop the traffickers.

Decades after America launched its war on drugs, illegal drugs have never been easier to get into this country, nor more potent. Meanwhile, America has spent untold billions spraying (and thus poisoning) coca fields in the Andes (and poppy fields in Afghanistan), arresting kids caught smoking marijuana, trying non-violent offenders in court, jailing dealers and hacking at hemp growing alongside rural roads.

The time has come to end this war, and recognize reality. It is impossible to stop an illicit business that creates fortunes in poor countries. As long as the money flows, drug cartels will always be ready to kill and to offer Mexican officials either bribes or death. (Their macabre saying is “Silver or lead?”)

Americans must take over this business, and the only way that they can do that is by legalizing these drugs— and heavily taxing them. After all, the U.S. has long done the same thing with the potent drugs alcohol and nicotine.

The argument that this will create more drug addicts is compelling, but not as strong as some believe. Illicit drugs are already plentiful, even in some of our schoolyards, and making them legal will embolden many to come out of hiding and seek treatment for their addictions.

Even if legalization were to increase drug use, that risk is overshadowed by the benefits. Crime would drop in our streets as dealers lose their livelihood, and users don’t have to rob others to support their habit. Governments can regulate the drugs for purity and collect taxes on their sale.

Californians will vote in November on a referendum to legalize marijuana. Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron calculates that California could raise more than $100 million in tax revenues were it to tax pot, as it does cigarettes and alcohol. And it would save nearly $1 billion a year now spent enforcing the ban on pot.

Despite the public’s growing acceptance of ending drug prohibition, the Obama administration (led by a cigarette smoker) has just offered Mexico and Central America $1.4 billion in aid to fight the drug lords.

This will be money down the drain. The war on drugs is futilely repeated year after year after year. Let’s stop the insanity. Legalize these illicit drugs and treat their abuse as the medical problem it is. The taxes levied on them will help pay for treatment.
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