America's Demands for a Drug War

The world is watching as Mexico battles a horrendous drug war on the south side of the US border. Colombians shake their heads whenever the problems in Mexico flash across the news, all too familiar with the daily violence and killings. They wonder why another country in Latin America could suffer their same fate without applying the lessons Colombia has already learned. As the Obama administration formulates their position on Mexico, I see them taking a huge step forward just by acknowledging the part that the US plays in terms of demand, as is addressed in some recent articles from the NYT:

Since taking office, Mr. Obama and his aides have been working assiduously to carve out a Mexico policy that talks of “shared responsibility” in combating the drug problem. The president is likely to use his visit here to acknowledge that illicit drug consumption by Americans plays a role — an admission that experts predict will go a long way toward building goodwill on this side of the border.

“For the last 30 years the United States has come down with the big sticks of eradication and helicopters, and the elephant in the room of our own consumption, and the tough proliferation of arms, were just never addressed,” said Julia Sweig, director of the Latin America program at the Council on Foreign Relations. “I think just beginning to talk about those things is going to buy him a lot of space down there.”

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Obama lamented the bloodshed, saying it's been "sowing chaos in our communities and robbing so many of a future both here in Mexico and in the United States."

But he said America must do its part to help stop it.

"A demand for drugs in the United States is what is helping to keep these cartels in business," he said.

In Colombia the distinction between drug production and drug consumption is obvious: the majority of Colombians are not involved in drug use and thus the demand is generated externally. They look toward their allies up north in the US, UK, and Europe, watching young adults consume their most profitable crop at parties without thinking of the consequences their "fun" is having on innocent people elsewhere. It is this lack of consciousness that propagates the problems in countries such as Mexico and Colombia. If people snorting coke were to read articles like "Wider Drug War Threatens Colombian Indians," perhaps there would not be as much demand for illicit crops, dropping the price of the product, thus lowering production and alleviating some of the violence. I am glad that Obama acknowledges the US's involvement in the chain, and hope that the actions he takes will help avoid Mexico's demise into the same history as Colombia in 20 years.