Drug victims

Re “Too dangerous to ignore,” Opinion, Oct. 22

Pamela Starr’s warning is compelling. Mexico is very close to becoming a failed state.

Her comments on the bloodshed in Mexico -- enabled by the U.S. -- should not stop at gun-running. It is a very small portion of our population that is spending billions annually to purchase the illicit drugs that keep the cartels in business.

Don’t we really need to get a conversation started about that? Wouldn’t it be a better world if we just gave our brain-addled addicts the dope they wanted -- along with a little rehab help when they ask for it -- rather than allow them to continue to support the carnage, corruption and massive bureaucracies that accompany “drug enforcement”?

Imagine the possible consequences: courtroom backlogs and the need for prison expansion would be eased; foreign aid packages might be cut; law enforcement budgets would likely shrink; and terrorist organizations would lose an important source of funding. Wouldn’t all that be an equitable trade for regulating rather than continuing to outlaw drug use?

Stephen Downing

Palm Desert