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Really? Stop the demand? Good luck with that. It worked really well with prohibition.

Mr. Libertarian, I agree with you on this one. And Ron Paul.

Like terrorism, you can't beat drugs. It's like waging a war on spider webs. They're everywhere. My 15-year-old daughter is approached almost daily with offers of Ecstasy, marijuana, crank, etc. The hopelessness of the American people drives drugs. In California, the recidivism rate for marijuana felons is 65%. We spend in excess of $28,000 per felon per year. That's a lot - a LOT - of money. I think it's time to put marijuana on the same level as alcohol (I have nine friends and one niece dead due to alcohol - not one of my friends has ever died from smoking too much pot), and let employers decide who they want to hire. Unemployed pot smokers deal pot. If pot's legal, they'll have to figure something else out.

America does have a serious drug problem. Walk the streets of any major US city, and you will see the the effects in the countless number of mentally ill (aka homeless, bums, vagrants,etc.). Many of these people self-medicate, and some are the direct result of abuse. There is no question, we have a large number of people in our society who cannot deal with life on life's terms, and we all must bare this burden.

People start talking about and trying to address one of our greatest social ills – MENTAL ILLNESS! I doubt seriously if there is a family out there that has not been confronted with this issue (It's not a liberal or conservative thing!). Start with tryting to support that family member that everyone wants to ignore and dismiss.

What a joke it is to raise such a stink about this. As long as American citizens are demanding a product and are willing to buy it on the black market, people will cross the border to deliver. Why? Because it's INSANELY lucrative. Take away the profit and you take away the incentive to traffic these drugs– and all the violence that comes with trafficking.

When was the last time you saw someone swimming the Rio Grande in the middle of the night, risking being shot, mauled by dogs, or arrested & deported... to deliver a carton of cigarettes?

Of course this is America's fault. It's our demand for the illegal drugs and it's our money and our gun running. Mexico seems to have very little internal demand for those drugs. If we would decriminalize drugs and tax them (and provide treatment and counseling) all of this would stop tomorrow AND we could probably pay off the national debt to boot.

Kevin in Ohio March 26th, 2009 8:21 am ET

Yep, blame it on America. Expect more of the same from the left-wing politicians that lead this country.

Yep. America is totally innocent. Of everything. No drug addicts here. Nope. Everything is all sunshine and republicans. Yep.

I agree.. if there wasn't a demand for drugs in the US, the Mexican drug smugglers wouldn't keep supplying it to us... Do you mean to tell me, the US can go an invade other countries but can stop drugs in the US??? We need to ask ourselves that question and wonder why can't we stop drugs for crossing the boader into the US. CLOSED THE BOARDERS AND THAT'S IT.... BUT no WE INSIST THAT CAN'T HAPPENED.

The US makes money off of drugs being smuggled into this country. Let's see if people are addicated to drugs, they go into hospitals, jail, were they hire people to handled these people. JOB SECURITY. Also, these huge pharmacy suppliers makes the medicines, WHICH CAUSES other addications, we the government hires more people to handle these people. JOB SECURITY. I truly believe that if the US wanted to eliminate drugs from this country they could. They all have their dirty hands in the jar. It's A BIG JOKE.

So a war in Mexico stemming from Mexico's corrupt politicians and lack of law enforcement is MY fault? Seriously? What this really means is that she wants to lend US soldiers to Mexico and give them money to fight the war. Mexico needs to collapse and rebuild itself, not live off of welfare from the US.

Remember that the drug lords did not create the demand for drugs. So... even if you wiped the drug lords out there would still be a big pot of money wanting drugs in the U.S.. The libs need to get tough on drug laws and border defense.

It takes TWO to tango. You demand it they supply it. Can you imagine if most U.S. troops posted far afield were redeployed to U.S./ Mexico border hot spots, or the south west corner of the Bermuda Triangle?

Thank God we have a new Secretary of State.

.

Don't forget to blame Canada as well, a lot of shipments make it to their country. Blame California and British Columbia for their lax laws on marijuana which introduces more youngsters to the illegal substance therefor increasing demand. Blame the 60's generation who are still doing the drugs 40 years later. Blame the federal government and border states for putting too much restrictions on CBP. I would make a good Secretary of State.

I'm really glad for Hillary that things turned out the way they did. She is an excellent Secretary of State and her image is improving. Glad she did not have to try and fight with congress and the press, during this terrible economic time; it would have been at least twice as hard for her as it has been for President Obama.

She's right – as usual.

Nice to have smart, deep thinking, hard-working people in posisitions of power again after the eight pathetic years of the Bush administration.

Has Hilary forgotten the golden rule of international diplomacy and travel, never criticize your country or it's leadership... The world continues to lose respect for the American people and our government when we do this and she should be held accountable. She never was fit to represent this country anyway!

Hillary is absolutely right-if we weren't using, there would be no reason to traffic drugs our way.

Every American-from college kids (Michael Phelps!) to Hollywood, from the music industry to white collar criminals-has to address the growing drug problem in the US. Only then can we help change behavior in Mexico.

Hillary has hit the nail right on the head. We fear that the arm-smugglin' may be allegedly connived at by the border patrol. If it is denied, somebody ought to find out how this is happenin' right under the noses of some form of law enforcement agencies, may be even with tacit support.

STOP THE INSANITY at our borders. This law was in effect in 1986 and no one has done anything about it. NOW we here in Arizona are tired of all this crap coming over into our soverign country taking over our ERs, jails, streets, home invations, carjackings, intidimations and the list goes on and on. This is a war on our streets. They are coming over in droves and we are sinking into an abyss unless the Government will finally do something about it. NO STUPID stimulis monies going to study the genes of catfish for now. The real money needs to go to real problems NOW. We are drowning here with all this. We are tire. Many of us now carry guns and are not afraid to use them. Come hell or high water. We will not be taking it all a whole lot longer. Get with it Government. You are hired to formost to protect and service the United States Americans Here NOW.

Of course we share some blame. If there was no demand for this crap, then there would be little interest in shipping it north into the US. If we can get the majority of people to stop using it, then there will be a whole lot less demand and less we have to spend on law enforcement and related government expense to deal with the aftermath.

Want to know what else fuels the drug trade? The fact that the demand for drugs is inelastic. This means a small decrease in the supply leads to a large increase in price. That large increase in price means larger profits. The larger profits attracts more people to try and get involved in selling drugs. With greater competition and more profit at stake, drug trafficers will do anything they can to get these profits. Which means more violence.

You certainly don't see anyone in the Netherlands killing people in order to sell weed or hash.

Go get 'em Hillary.....

Hillary hit the nail on the head. If we stupid Americans would slack off the drugs the drug troubles in MX would disappear. Its all a matter of supply and demand.

So we help smuggle weapons to Mexico? I'd like to know which gun stores sell fully automatic weapons and grenade launchers to civilians, seeing as how that's been illegal for decades and civilians can't just walk into a store and buy them.

No, Hillary, they get the automatic weapons and grenade launchers from other places besides the USA and you know it.

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Decrease the demand for ILLEGAL drugs.
*Legalize them.*

To be fair, I cringe at the idea of legal crazed coke heads. However, I cringe just as violently at legal crazed drunks. Coke wears off in 15-20min. Alcohol? 1 ounce per hour. Still, legal coke is hard to wrap my mind around.

The same case cannot be made for cannibus. Not a single recorded death in some 5,000 years of use. Cotton balls can't even claim that!

End the reason these cartels exist. Make it legal. Any disputes that arise could be settled in courts. It's the only reason why Budweiser death squads aren't running wild in the streets of Colorado whenever Miller Brewery encroaches on their territory.

Legalize it. Stop the crime that you have not been able to for hundreds of years.
Legalize it. Stop letting billions go to the people you are fighting. Remember that argument about foreign oil funding terrorism?
Legalize it. End the industrial prison complex that profits from incarcerating as many people (especially Blacks) as possible in pursuit of money, not justice.

Legalize. Them.

"Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade,"
’ "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police officers, soldiers and civilians. So, yes, I feel very strongly we have a co-responsibility."

Senator Clinton is absolutely right, demand = supply
You can’t blame a poor campesino for growing coca. Coca will give him 15 dollars a day, corn or coffee will give him 2 dollars a day. And with that has to provide for a family.

Many in America glorify the use of drugs, specially the plastic people in Hollywood. The perception that drugs are cool are killing this country and destroying others, Drugs finance Al-Qaeda and other extremist groups around the world, so be patriotic and denounce people that promote illegal drugs in this country .

Most important..!!

No demand, No supply

I'm not a big Hillary fan, but the more I see her in her new post, I wish the election had turned out differently.

Every college kid, every high-powered business exec, every bored housewife, and every addict on the streets who uses illegal drugs helps fund the violence that's going on along the border, as surely as every driver of a gas guzzling SUV contributes to the damage of global warming.

Individual actions can have global consequences.

It is time to decriminalize marijuana.

1. It would stop the overcrowding of our prisons.
2. We can regulate it and tax users like alcohol & cigarettes.
3. It will cut down on the violence.
4. There are many more marijuana users than heavier drugs. Thus, it is a foregone conclusion it does not lead to heavier drug use.

These are facts, not spin.

Hillary is right. Our insatiable appetite for illegal drugs is the problem. Why not legalize recrearional drugs and send these border thugs the way of the old time bootlegger. In other words, let them become irrelevent. It might also solve some of our revenue problems.

It's the truth. If the government ever got smart and legalized marijuana two things would happen:

Generate million of $ in revenue
Reduce crime

Of course there would be to be some regulations – age being one of them. And, the pot would be sold out of pot stores, just like liquor stores.

People are NOT going to stop smoking pot. The only viable answer is to legalize it just like alcohol during prohibition – know why alcohol became legal – because it's BIG BUSINESS. Marijuana could be handled the same. Pot is so much safer than alcohol.

Is there anything anywhere that isn't our fault? I understand we need to be on the leading edge but she can't blame Mexico's lawlessness on us. We have our own problems as does Mexico and they can solve them any way they see fit. Their government is completely responsible for their out of control drug trade and has been for the last several decades, Clinton needs to button her lip.

Drug prohibition is no more successful than was alcohol prohibition. The only solution is to legalize drugs then regulate and tax the heck out of them. This will take away the huge profits the cartels use to buy weapons, fund death squads and pay bribes to public officials.

You should have been president.

She's absolutely RIGHT!!

I blame it much more on insatiable greed, insatiable hunger for power over others and an insatiable need to put the blame anywhere but on our national policies.

This has lead to powerful killing weapons in the hands of gangsters, over-reaching puritanical restrictions on personal freedoms, and a selective, willful blindness concerning the practical results of our so-called "War on Drugs."

Legalization, er, decriminalization would take care of that. Not to mention provide a huge tax base, free up jails and prisons over minor offenses, provide safer and better regulated products......what is it they (lawmakers) don't understand?

How true, How true. But poor Hillary will be accused of blaming America first. The fact is, the truth will set you free, but it will also
make you mad as hell. The drug cartels are killing each other and
any one else who gets in their way so they can satisfy the appitite
of the American consumer. If only we could control our addictions
then the cartels would have no one to sell to.

I really appreciate Clinton's comment here. The truth of the matter is, going after the "bad guys" in Mexico and other countries is never going to end the drug wars. It's just too profitable a business. The ONLY way to end the problem is for the United States to put its resources into breaking the cycle of American demand for those drugs. If there's no one left to sell to, the drug business will go away on its own.

She is absolutely right, and bless her for for the courage to say it out loud. Mexico is in the postiion of sharing a house with a drunken father, whom they cannot live without but are blamed when they are sent to buy the liquor.

So far, American drug laws have destabilized Colombia and Mexico. American drug laws also fund the Taliban in Afghanistan as well as many of the terrorists that are nourished there.

Many American government officials are corrupted by the fear of reprisal and the offer of temptingly large sums of money to allow drugs to cross our borders.

Also, so far as I can tell, any high school kid in America with the money can purchase any street drug she wants at any time of the day or night.

We must ask ourselves, what are our drug laws accomplishing?

I totally agree with SOS Clinton, drugs coming into the United States should have been stopped a very long time ago. How many people are needing the narcotics, the need is greater and the demand is stronger. In this economic times, where the hell is the money coming from?

So with the Mexican border issue Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano
Now puts Canada on notice that its border also will be on parity with the Mexican border in security measures. Representative Louise Slaughter said she plans to introduce a bill delaying the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative's implementation at Canada-U.S. land border crossings until June 1, 2010. Ms. Slaughter also said the U.S. is so ill-prepared to implement the new WHTI rules, that launching the plan this June will result in "chaos" for both commercial and leisure travellers.

I have to ask, is the idea that the U.S. treat the northern border equal to the Mexico-U.S. border? After all it even has U.S. northern border lawmakers irritated.

c'mon folks, we know you're out there . . . CEOs, physicians, law enforcement officers, elected officials, economists . . . step up to the plate and speak out. We know you're scared, it's cool. Most of us would be too if we were in your posisiton. Who really wants to risk their careers? But we need you to because this opportunity won't be here forever. Our Secretary of State just went on the record to admit that we're creating the demand that's driving the black market drug industry and all the violence that comes with it. The elephant in the room just gained another 500 lbs and it's getting up to move around. Now is the time for a thorough discusion of the economic and social merits of decriminalization. How can anyone in good conscience say that prolonging the drug war reduces violence anymore? Really, how many people were beheaded last year conducting legitimate business transactions? Think of the families of those 1500+ people just in one town in Mexico. What do you think the death toll is worldwide? You can help end the violence. You can make a difference. Now is the time.

Drugs, guns, illegals, (terrorists), and whatever else. I have no problem in putting our soldiers side-by-side along the border, with orders to shoot to kill if necessary. Our military has the capability to put a stop to this, however, where does it stop? These people are not stupid and if we did shut down the southern border they would only move east, west or north. So are we prepared to close down every border? I say yes, but once again we would have those that would protest about rights, sue, and on and on.

Yep, blame it on America. Expect more of the same from the left-wing politicians that lead this country.

Yeah, we do. Maybe if Congress had locked down the borders many years ago, instead of coddling the illegal immigrants, we wouldn't have this problem. Oh well, now the taxpayers get to pay for this one too.

We need to work with any nation that needs our help, with in reason.
This drug traffic/guns/death, is a very good reason to help our neighbors to the south.

You are so right Mrs. Clinton. The hunger the american people have for drugs is incredible. Just as comsuption for alcohol. The only difference???? Alcohol is legal. Is one of the most lethal drugs, but is legal.

Yes I agree with Sec. Clinton we do share the responsibility by continuing our laws of prohibition that fuels a three trillion dollar underground economy of crime. End prohibition laws now save taxpayer money, save lives get the government out of the human behavior business. Let new private charities and business opportunity serve the drug addicted.

isn't strange, we can defoliate Vietman, to kill people, and cause all kinds of medical miseries both to the Vietmanese men, women, and children, and to our own service men, with agent orange for some lofty agenda; but to be able to see who is coming accross our borders, the good, the bad, and the ugly, (terrorist), well, this would hurt some poor tree, or shrub; it's no wonder this country is looked at, as a bunch of ninnys..

Spoken like a true liberal.

Agree with Hilary's comment. Top Ranking politicians just don't say enough of this. That's a start but now let's do something about it too. What is the US going to do to stop this drug consumption that starts from young and very often with "soft" drugs like grass ? And yet in this culture, smoking grass is acceptable.

I'm no fan of HRC, but I will say I think she's right on here. Aiding in the prevention of new drug users as well as placing a greater emphasis on rehabilitation services are much needed.

You bet we share some of the blame. As a matter of fact, we share all the blame. No drug demand=no drug violence. America's need for drugs is helping to destabilize Mexico and other S.A. countries. By 'destabilize' I mean overthrow. How serious does the problem have to become before Americans will stop thinking of drugs as a recreational joke? Having fun are we? Just keep buying drugs to support the violence, fellow Americans, and it will be coming to your neighborhood soon. Or as a man once said, "You get what you pay for."

WhooHoo, let's party!