By Road and By Zih

*sigh*
Apparently I have to keep repeating myself on this subject for the reading comprehension challenged, because I know I've explained all this to you before...

Nope, not shortsighted at all. Quite the contrary. For starters, the only reason these substances were made illegal in the first place was because of racism in the USA, and the reason they continue being illegal is because of special interests (aka Big Pharma, Big Alcohol) and bloated budgets (DEA, CIA, police narcotics offices, weaponry and 'gadgets'). It has nothing to do with health because if it did then their prohibition has already been responsible for more deaths than if the stupidly banned substances had been legal all this time and everyone who used them were a heavy abuser or addict, which they are not. Removing the main source of income from violent organized criminals means instead of them having 10 million dollars for every million the government can spare to fight them, the playing field becomes much more level. They may try making up for the loss by increased extortion and kidnappings and thefts, but see what happened in Michoacán a few years ago and what is currently happening in Guerrero. Community after community, region after region is rising up against the criminal gangs and running them off. Do you know what happens when one of these communities catches a crook? They either beat or burn them to death and then hang them. That kind of justice keeps criminals in line until they return to one of these small communities with dozens of armed men and run all the women and children off their land and kill or force the men to work for them. All because the USA bans substances its citizens want and creates a multi-billion dollar a year black market. The comunitarios and the new president have the right idea. Take money and power away from the criminals by removing the source of their most lucrative market. The US federal government however is continuing to insist on its long-failed policies and is taking the USA backwards into the dark ages, and millions of its citizens are cheering this on. So while we watch the decline of the USA we are also watching the rise of sanity in Canada and Mexico and other nations who are taking power away from organized criminals and reclaiming their tranquility and prosperity.