We definitely have to take a major step that goes after US Demand for illegal drugs in some smart new way. Moral or law enforcement band aids are nice, expensive, and inadequate.
In working the STOP program in Portland I spent a lot of time with drug users. Most aren't really "addicts" (but that title sure makes just one more convenient excuse to rationalize their destructive behavior) , they just like it and see no reason to stop (just yet). Few ride these problems all the way into the ground, but most all rationalize away all of the incremental negative impacts on their health, their finances, their work, their relationships with friends and family, etc. They sure as hell don't worry about how their small purchases impact the stability of Mexico.
My approach is mix or a two "Unacceptable" approaches. One is too liberal, and the other is too conservative. Neither works on its own, but I think together they would take tremendous pressure off of Mexico's government as well as our own tax payers and law enforcement/corrections communities
Too Liberal: Legalize all drugs. Remove the illegal market. Even pure poison like Meth. Put a warning label from hell that truly describes how that #### will kill you in a matter of months, with a mandatory counseling with current and former users before you get your prescription to buy the legal, taxed, safe as possible product.
Too Conservative: Create a list of jobs and professions that are deemed as too important to the public welfare to be held by drug users and require no drug use with mandatory testing as a condition of employment. Cab drivers to Doctors and a whole lot in between. Perhaps a three strikes for some drugs, one strike for others; but in the end one is simply fired and banned from holding any of the listed jobs until going through a year-long program of rehab, treatment, drug tests, counseling, etc. Upon successful completion one could get their ticket back to the banned list; but perhaps some professional licensees would take more or would not be eligible for redemption (surgeon, airline pilot, etc).
Some principles/concepts at work in my thinking on this is:
1. Never create a rule one is either unable or unwilling to enforce.
2. To effectively impact any supply and demand situation one has to focus on demand.
3. Coupling any high demand situation with illegality will breed organized crime and violence.
4. U.S. politicians lack the moral courage (as a whole) to take on the tough issues they know they must tackle if it will affect them personally, or their party. A bill equally offensive and acceptable to both parties allows them to share the blame and credit equally across the aisle.
5. Never create a punishment system that punishes the taxpayer as much as it does your target audience.
6. Separation of church and state. We argue morality as the reason for not addressing a problem that creates so many greater moral problems in its current uncontrolled, illegal status. Don't be a hypocrite and hide behind the church to avoid making smart, hard decisions.
7. Put the cost and consequences upon the party that benefits most. You want to use drugs? That's your call, but you won't have a very good job, and the tax revenues from your purchases will fund the programs that will help you and regulate your usage as well.
As to any immediate relief to Mexico? Just announcing that we are going to finally take our role in their problem serious would provide a major morale boost to the good guys (and also put the bad guys on notice that things are getting ready to change). Otherwise, I would approach it much as we do our operations in the Philippines (except with better funding than we've ever given that neglected theater) in terms of ISR and intel support, training, etc. Sending thousands of Americans to Mexico to hunt for senior leadership of drug cartels formed to fill American demand would be an entirely foreseeable disaster. Beside, even more than in insurgency and terrorist operations, new leadership will always emerge to take those top of the heap big money jobs.
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