A Third Way On Drug Laws
Some say that the state of Michoacan, deep in south Mexico, is where the "war on drugs" really started, back in 1985. It was there that Mexican drug lords upped the stakes by burying in a shallow grave the body of a young Drug Enforcement Administration agent, Enrique Camarena, whom they had kidnapped and killed. The U.S. Congress responded months later with strict anti-drug laws, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison for anyone trafficking in five grams of crack cocaine or 500 grams of powder cocaine.
At that time, crack was certainly producing more violence on the streets than powder cocaine, and beat cops were expressing frustration at this ever-increasing drug market.… Seguir leyendo »