That’ll be the day…

I wonder if this guy has been reading Mex Files?  Probably not, and Mex Files isn’t the only one who has pointed out that the problem with those talking about legalization as a means of halting violence in Mexico are usually only talking about legalizing (or rather, simply, decriminalizing) marijuana … and in the United States.

Certainly, this would take SOME of the profits out of the Mexican narcotics trade, but does nothing really for Mexico as a whole.  Given that Mexicans are not particularly interested in using narcotics (and for the most part oppose legalizing consumption), it seems the true economic beneficiaries of legalization in the United States would be U.S. marijuana growers… or the corporate agricultural firms that are able to control the market as they do other domestic agricultural products.  Secondly, I’ve never heard any of the “legalize it” crowd ever say boo about replacing the financial losses to Mexican agriculture from a protected U.S. market.  Who would be the first to demand protection from foreign imports if marijuana was legalized in the United States?

What is at issue in Mexico is the production and distribution of narcotics.  Taken just as businesses, the growers and distributors are not just important agricultural enterprises, but major investors in the economy.  And, there is no logical reason Mexico shouldn’t export or produce crops for which there isn’t a major domestic market.  We were never a major coffee-drinking nation, which never stopped Mexico from being a major coffee producer.  Oil production was mostly for export, and still is.

The Mex Files has suggested before that Mexico simply legalize production and distribution, and let the buyer take their own risks.  The “industry” being out of the closet, would be able to legitimately invest its funds in Mexico, and — perhaps just as importantly — as a legitimate agricultural product, marijuana and opium poppy cultivation would allow for legitimate rural development and employment.

I shouldn’t be surprised by who is also proposing this.  Maybe this is just a bored retiree taking up blogging, but the guy has some experience in selling useless, and probably harmful foreign import  — former Coca-Cola executive (and holder of a couple government jobs), Vicente Fox writes (my translation):

.. we must consider legalizing the production, distribution and sale of drugs. Legalizing in this sense does not mean that drugs are good or harmless to the consumer.  That is beside the point.  Rather, legalization is a strategy to break the economic structure which generates huge profits for mafias, and in turn, allows them to corrupt and increase their power.  Furthermore, in countries where have implemented legalization, consumption has not risen significantly.  A high sales tax – as we have on snuff – could generate revenues allocated to combating addiction, reducing consumer demand and rehabilitation of users.

PROHIBITION is a radical strategy that has never worked.  Modern societies deal with social issues … such as abortion, marriage, family, alcohol, cigarettes … differently.  Today’s citizens see each party responsible for their own actions, and the role of government as fulfilling its constitutional obligations to provide a path to democracy and freedom.  and the government of its constitutional obligations is the path of democracy and freedom.

My proposals are the result of experience, of self-criticism and of studying the successful practices of other countries.  We need to upset the balance between criminals, markets, distribution networks and gangs sheltered by corruption.  It needs to be done intelligently, and with less violence.

It is imperative to restore balance to our nation, improve our image in the world, attract investment, boost tourism, and to support serious rehabilitation programs.  It won’t be easy, but I invite you, my friends, to consider the possibility.

Perhaps the only critique I might have (as an outsider) of Lic. Fox’s proposition is that — given the size, scope and economic impact of the narcotics production and distribution industry — it be under state control, which would give more leverage to Mexico in dealing with the user countries, when it comes to export duties — and, if the user countries don’t want the stuff, make it simpler for them to simply buy it to keep off the market.

Also, given the complexity of the industry as it is now structured, much of the violence is attributed to competition among the various organizations, as well as between those organizations and the government.  Putting the government in charge (perhaps making space for those various producers and distributors — no point in wasting “institutional memory”) that could be minimized.  We also have to remember that — like the oil companies, which claimed to be “good citizens” — the social services commitment by competitors in the same industry and same locale — is sometimes hit or miss.  A narcotics industry based on PEMEX would — as  PEMEX does in Tabasco and Campeche and elsewhere, work as a secondary provider of social services (think of all the PEMEX hospitals and basketball courts and parks built for the workers, but benefiting the entire community).  The PEMEX network complements the state network.  And, as a state industry, a legitimate narcotics production and distribution system would be a source of middle-class careers.  Agronomists and chemical engineers and truckers can always be retrofitted to work with other agricultural products if poppy production ended, but in the meantime, they would be building respectable jobs, and a state company would have the power and incentive to encourage training in these areas of investigation.  In short, a benefit no matter whether the product is ever sold or not.

And, as I said, it’s not Mexico’s concern what the buyer does.  If foreign governments chose to buy the product and destroy it — while pretending it was part of their anti-use policy — it would still be economically beneficial and less wasteful than what is done now.  And, maybe as an added bonus, even if other countries legalized marijuana and/or poppies and allowed for Mexican inports, it would keep Monsanto from introducing genetically altered versions of the crop.  Maybe there’s a niche market for “organic” heroin.