New drug-war plan is unveiled

New drug-war plan is unveiled
US out to combat Mexican cartels, reduce demand
By Tim Korte
The Associated Press
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 06.06.2009

ALBUQUERQUE â?? Obama administration officials said Friday that they will devote more resources to fighting Mexican drug cartels and use new technology to thwart them while trying to quell the U.S. demand for drugs that fuels the violent gangs.
Attorney General Eric Holder and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced a 2009 counter- narcotics strategy at a press conference with White House drug czar Gil Kerlikowske. Holder called it "an effective way forward that will crack down on cartels and make our country safer."
The strategy calls for a number of steps along the U.S.-Mexico border to combat and detect smugglers, including:
â?¢ Building visual shields near border-crossing points so drug-cartel spotters can't alert approaching motorists about inspections.
â?¢ Improving nonlethal weapons technology to help officers incapacitate suspects and disable motor vehicles and boats used by traffickers.
â?¢ Reviving an interagency working group to coordinate intelligence.
â?¢ Using more intelligence analysts to ferret out drug-dealing networks.
"This strategy is tough, it's strong and it's balanced," Holder said.
The plan is outlined in a document to be sent to Congress.
More than 10,800 people have been killed in Mexico by drug violence since December 2006. Mexico has deployed more than 45,000 soldiers across the country to fight the heavily armed cartels.
Holder and Napolitano praised efforts by Mexican President Felipe Calderón and said the United States must contribute to the fight.
"International cooperation is very, very key," Napolitano said. "We have an unprecedented opportunity to work on drug trafficking on both sides of the border. We should not let this opportunity go by."
Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, said the strategy is missing a key piece:
"I am disappointed that it does not call on the departments of Homeland Security and Justice to resolve their long-standing turf battles over drug investigations."
Immigration and Customs Enforcement wants more of its agents to have the authority to do drug investigations. But that can happen only if the Drug Enforcement Administration agrees. No such agreement has been reached.
Napolitano conceded the plan outlined Friday doesn't address that issue but said Homeland Security and Justice officials have been working on it and will announce a solution "very, very shortly."
Dozens of state and federal law enforcement officials, state elected leaders, emergency management officials and state and federal prosecutors crowded a University of New Mexico ballroom for Friday's announcement.
The drug strategy's long-range goals include developing new technology to process biometric information from documents used by Mexicans crossing the border. That would allow Customs and Border Patrol officers to run fingerprint checks on Mexicans who have border-crossing cards to enter the United States.
The Obama administration has pledged to provide more help in the effort, sending additional federal agents, officers and equipment to the border and to Mexico to fight the Mexican cartels.
Napolitano said the U.S. strategy would also focus on reducing demand from drug users. The plan includes improved ways for federal agencies to share information with state and local law enforcement agencies.
"We can't just fight drugs at the border. We can't just fight drugs by fighting traffickers. We must fight drugs in the United States," Napolitano said.
The Marijuana Policy Project, which supports regulating the drug like alcohol, criticized the plan. Marijuana prohibition "has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them fat and happy," said the group's spokesman, Bruce Mirken.

New Anti-Drug Plan Doomed to Failure, Reformers Charge

Failure to Consider Fundamental Reforms Guarantees Cartels Will Continue to Dominate Marijuana Trade

WASHINGTON - June 5 - The new anti-drug initiative for the Southwestern border announced today by the Obama administration is doomed to failure because it simply dresses up failed policies in new clothing, the Marijuana Policy Project charged today.

"The new plan simply calls for rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," said MPP director of government relations Aaron Houston. "The plan ignores the central problem, which is that our policy of marijuana prohibition has handed the Mexican cartels a massive market that keeps them rolling in cash, not just in Mexico, but according to the Department of Justice, in 230 American cities."

Houston noted that federal officials have stated that 60 to 70 percent of the cartels' profits come from the marijuana trade, and that the Mexican government seems to be signaling its unhappiness with the United States' current policy. "The Mexican Congress strategically scheduled consideration of legislation to remove criminal penalties for marijuana possession to coincide with President Obama's trip there," Houston said. He also noted that Mexican ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhán called for the debate on regulating and taxing marijuana to be "taken seriously on both sides of the border" on national television.

"Rather than trying to make America's 15 million monthly marijuana consumers go away, we need to gain control of this market by regulating marijuana like we do beer, wine and liquor," Houston said. "Any anti-drug effort that leaves the marijuana trade in the hands of the cartels is nothing but a full-employment plan for professional drug warriors and cartel bosses alike, not a serious proposal to address the problem."

With more than 26,000 members and 100,000 e-mail subscribers nationwide, the Marijuana Policy Project is the largest marijuana policy reform organization in the United States. MPP believes that the best way to minimize the harm associated with marijuana is to regulate marijuana in a manner similar to alcohol. For more information, please visit MPP Homepage.

I agree this new plan is as worthless as the last when it comes to actually controlling cannabis, but at least they are focusing more on targeting people with guns, ie. violent offenders. Its a very, very, very small step in the right direction I guess, but maybe I'm just an optimist. :jointsmile:

That's an INSANELY giant leap of faith dejayou.

Man, I saw this and was like "ooooh maybe they're gonna focus on harm minimisation tactics or something." Meh....