I bet there are much more Billions of Drug Money involved in the USA Economy than in the small DR Economy, and in case of Corruption on ALL SIDES, it is the same present there, or do You think the Narcotraffickers can ship Cargo Ship and Planeloads of the stuff to american Soil without the lil 'Help' of officials there?
that specially this year 2010 so many officials, up to highest Ranks in Navy, Army, Airforce, Police including the Police's Special Drug Forces DNCD got caught and brought to Justice is IMHO a very positive thing, show's that the Gubmint is moving on the matter.
and in latest cases they did not just catch some small delivery Boys to hang publically while the Big Dogs run free, it looks like some are out there doing their job right.
which Country could you name running it's Matters so perfect and corruption free that they could point their dirty fingers on the DR?
Mike
Right Mike!
I'll even take it a step further. The drug related problems in the Dominican Republic as well as Colombia, Mexico and much of the Caribbean and Central/ South America is a direct result of the US drug problem.
Think about it. If I can ride through a neighborhood and spot the dealers how come the cops can't. Poor kids with little education and fewer job prospects are catching 5 year prison sentences for dealing dime bags while the guys in the suits who handle the logistics of importing metric tons are playing golf with the same judges who sentenced those kids. Every once in awhile some cop will become disgruntled (Frank Serpico) or some high level supplier will get pinched (Frank Lucas) and it will result in the revelation that whole police divisions (NYPD) are actively supporting the drug trade.
In the argument between expanding interdiction vs. decriminalization there is no doubt in my mind that the expansion of the impotent interdiction programs will always win out because there's tons and tons of money in it for cops, judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys and other types of criminals on both sides of the "Law and Order" business.
If the US would decriminalize narcotic and non narcotic drugs, place importing, refining and distribution under the purview of the FDA and enforcement under the purview of ATF and let the pharmaceutical companies compete for the profits here's what would happen:
. The US would see an immediate drop in drug related crimes as prices would drop significantly.
. Organized crime in both the growing and transit countries would be immediately defunded. They would no longer be able to afford police, politicians, etc. and would go back to being petty thieves, getting caught and doing time and politicians, cops and judges could get back to the business of establishing orderly societies with safe and productive citizens.
. Organized crime and affiliated street gang activity in the US would vaporize. The communities which have been ravaged by drugs (all poor) will be the centers for drug treatment and awareness education. These communities will have a chance to recover as decent (albeit modest) places to raise children. They will provide the model for community recovery in all the areas of the developing world that have been decimated by the illegal drug trade.
. Drug addicts will have to register to buy drugs. They will be identified for voluntary training and treatment.
. Rule of Law will once again be possible in Mexico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic and dozens of other countries where drugs have created millions of truly innocent victims.
. (I think most importantly) The taxation of the import and sale of these drugs (taxed just like alcohol) will produce a sort of "peace dividend" which will be more than enough to fund drug education, treatment and code enforcement. The biggest problem with a Trillion dollar (annual) criminal industry is that there's no way to tax it. That means that interdiction, adjudication and incarceration have to be funded by the sweat off the brows of honest, hard working people who are the ultimate victims of this criminal activity. It's a win-win for the criminals and their co-conspirators in the Law and Order business and a kick in the pants for the taxpayers.
The current expansion of interdiction methodology is unsustainable and is turning the power of government over to organized criminals. The many crusading "do-right" politicians, cops, judges, etc who stand up to these criminals are being mowed down, dragged from their homes, beaten, tortured and murdered and we can only sit and watch like it's some kind of nightmare "reality TV" series. This has got to be stopped!
.....but it will never happen because there's no profit in it for the people who currently author legislation and enforce the law. Don't even get me started on the prison industry which has spent the past two decades moving to privatize as a "for profit" endeavor...:tired:
Last edited: