Editorial:

The war on drugs has once again been proven a failure with the killings of two U.S. citizens in the la Ciudad Juarez this past weekend, when suspected drug cartel hit men killed a U.S. consulate employee and her husband, minutes after the husband of another consular employee was shot to death. In both cases young children were in the back seat with two being wounded. This marks a new tactic by the drug cartels, killing American service employees.

Ciudad Juarez is deadliest city in the world with 2,657 killings in 2009 alone. Last weekend alone there were 11 killings in the city. The San Diego Police Department reported 41 murders for all of 2009 in comparison.

In Tijuana the killings, mutilations, kidnappings, all associated with the drug cartels, are well documented. Cartel killings have spilled over the border and into cities such as Chula Vista where bodies have been found killed execution style. In 2009 at least eight journalist have been killed all who have written stories exposing the drug cartels. Even the Mexican police chiefs are not safe from cartel assassins.

In 2006 Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on drugs and sent the Mexican army to lead the war. The United States, in 2007, announced a $1.4 billion, two-year package, the Merida Initiative, to help the Mexican government combat organized crime, dubbed “Plan Mexico.”

The outcome has been a one sided affair with drug cartels winning through intimidation, terror, and they are in control while Mexico and the city of Juarez are gripped in fear.

According to government reports, the National Drug Intelligence Center estimated that Mexican and Colombian drug trafficking organizations annually generate between $8.3 and $24.9 billion in wholesale drug earnings in the United States.

The drug violence is of particular concern on this side of the border with spring break upon us and when so many college students head south for a couple of weeks of fun and relaxation. The idea of our young people in Mexico sends a chill down the spine.

The Drug War is a failure! The U.S. government needs to acknowledge this. Mexico needs to re-think their policy on militarizing their cities.

As stated in the book “Narco: The failed war,” co-authored by former president Vicente Fox spokesperson Rubén Aguilar and political analyst and former foreign minister Jorge Castañeda who stated that violence will only cause more violence. They back is up with statistics that find the number of murders per capita showing a sharp increase after Calderon declared war on drug trafficking on December 11th in 2006.

In America since President Nixon declared the war on drugs it has only gotten worse. There has been no abatement in the amount of drugs crossing the border and drug use by Americans only continues to climb. To continue down the same road has already proven futile. A new direction is called for. Much like when Prohibition was ended and the associated crime with that failed policy dismissed, it appears that it is time to consider legalizing marijuana as a step in a new direction. It is obvious that following the same old philosophy is not working.