Mexico's Problem Is Not The Guns
by James Glaser
April 20, 2009

President Obama, just back from a trip to Mexico, is talking about all the violence down there, and how many American guns are finding their way down there. Obama would like us to believe that if we could somehow stop our guns from getting to Mexico, their violence problem would be over.

The first question we should all ask is why do Mexicans want guns, and what are they doing with them?

There is a pretty universal answer to any question that you can't figure out—that answer is, MONEY! Just about any problem that comes up now-a-days can be explained by somebody having money and somebody else wanting that money.

The money they are fighting over in Mexico and the reason they are buying our guns, is the huge amount of American money sent there for illegal drugs. The guns and the violence are a by-product of the drug trade. If we really want to stop the violence and the gun running, we first have to stop the trade of drugs for money.

There is only one way left to stop that trade and that is to legalize drugs. We have tried every other way, including declaring a War on Drugs. Illegal drugs demand a high price, but the drugs themselves are cheap to produce or grow.

If drugs are legal and cheap in America, there will be no reason to import them from Mexico. Neither will there be any drug trade, no vast sums of money going south, no need for guns, and no need for violence to steal the drugs and money or to protect markets.

Yes, I know nobody wants to hear this, because of all the lobbying done by the liquor industry, the pharmaceutical industry, and don't kid yourself, the illegal drug traders. People who make fortunes from selling illegal drugs spread money around in Washington, too. People who make as much money as drug lords do need protection for their industry, and they know making drugs legal would put them out of business. Legal drugs would also hurt alcohol sales and pot would replace a lot of drugs that you need a prescription to get.

If we want to stop Mexico's drug problem, stop their violence, and stop their need for guns, then we need to stop sending billions of dollars across our border to buy illegal drugs. Pretty simple, but no politician is going out on that limb.

So, the guns going from America to Mexico are not the reason for the violence we see escalating down there. The reason is the American drug money going there. Huge piles of American dollars in any dirt poor country is going to lead to violence.

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