The drug war is officially an actual war

We've kind of had this conversation before but, especially in light of what is going on in Mexico, and already spilling over into the US, and our economic issues, doesn't keeping many of these drugs illegal seem insane?

To me the drug war has always seemed a little misguided. The cons have outweighed the pros for a long time now, and it's had noticeable side effects. I'm not saying it wouldn't exist, but I have a hard time believing the crystal meths of the world would be anywhere near as rampant if you could buy weed, and maybe other drugs, at Walmart.

The "drug war" had some upside, back when it was generally a euphemism for "try and scare kids with 'reefer madness' B.S. and bust the occasional meth house." Now that bodies are, literally, piling up it seems insane, almost to the point of being criminal, to continue with what is really a fairly arbitrary policy, given that we live in a country where it seems 90% of our advertisements are alcohol.

I don't know if I'm in favor of an across the board legalization, but I also wonder if that's even necessary. Legalizing marijuana is an absolute no brainier, to the point that it baffles me it hasn't already happened. I assume the different drugs would have different effects, but at the same time if a pack of Marlboro Greens is $2.99 at the gas station on the corner, would people even care about the cocaines of the world? Seems like a lot of the drugs would be an unnecessary headache, given the alternative.

Many people say Marijuana is a gateway drug, but most people who look at these situations have concluded that if it's a gateway, which isn't clear anyway, it is for a few reasons. 1) You've already broken the law. You've crossed that moral line, and gotten away with it. 2) Drug dealers are salesmen too, and just like the Kirby guy wants you to buy their most expensive model, they want you to buy their most expensive items. (Both to make more money, and because the penalties are more for having those drugs on them if caught.)

Most times however it's just misapplied cause/effect logic. Yeah, most coke heads tried marijuana first, that really doesn't mean anything. It can also be, and probably is, true that most marijuana smokers don't "move on."

Before it was just pretty stupid to invest so much time, money, and energy in keeping these items, especially marijuana, out of the hands of people who want it. (And even some who need it.) Today, given our financial woes, and the fact that many innocent people are losing their lives over this, it just seems downright illogical.
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