A drug dealer named Shorty joins Warren Buffet and Bill Gates on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people as President Obama talks about sending National Guard troops to the Mexican border because “it’s unacceptable if you’ve got drug gangs crossing our borders and killing U.S. citizens.”
We are living in a sequel to Steven Soderbergh’s 2000 movie “Traffic” now as the American appetite for controlled substances competes with financial greed to undermine the society. In almost a decade since, the “war on drugs” has gone no better than those in the Middle East.
The President spoke yesterday about a “two-way situation” on the Mexican border: “The drugs are coming north, we’re sending funds and guns south. As a consequence, these cartels have gained extraordinary power. Our expectation is to have a comprehensive policy in place in the next few months.”
The first step was the appointment as drug czar of a former street cop, Seattle police chief Gil Kerlikowske, who in his acceptance brought out echoes of the Michael Douglas character in “Traffic…”