Pubdate: Sun, 05 Dec 1999
Date: 12/05/1999
Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)
Author: S.R. Young

The discovery of mass graves in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico is a terrible
reminder of how far some people are willing to go to maintain control
over an incredibly profitable black market.

In coming days, many politicians and commentators will be calling for
a tough response to the grisly scene being uncovered in Ciudad Juarez.
I hope citizens won't be fooled by such a call for more of the same.
The only way to stop such violence is to stop the drug war. Responding
with even more violence will push the drug cartels to greater depths.

Historians examining the end of alcohol prohibition sometimes look at
the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago as a turning point in
public opinion about the value of prohibition. That display of
ruthless violence in 1929 left seven people dead. In Ciudad Juarez,
the numbers could be ten or twenty times higher. How many more bodies
will it take for us to stand up again as a nation and say no to
prohibition?

S. R. Young