Legalize is to Pacify

'Legalize is to Pacify' - 'A bad business'

This editorial cartoon by Chócolo from today's El Espectador newspaper really hits the spot for me.

Below the title, 'Legalize is to Pacify,' a camoflauged man in a hammock gripping an automatic rifle shakes his fist at the sky and declares 'It's a bad business.'

The man might be a guerrilla, paramilitary fighter or a plain old narco, all of whom make money off of the illegal drug trade. But, whoever he is, legalizing drugs would certainly hurt his business by shifting the drug industry to legal, tax-paying companies which don't buy automatic rifles.

In fact, a recent study by Mexican academics concluded that legalized marijuana in one or more U.S. states - as Colorado and Washington voted to do last week - would take billions of dollars away from Mexican cartels.

If this cartoon expresses El Espectador's editorial view, it shows that legalization (or decriminalization) of drugs has become the establishment position here in Colombia. The El Tiempo newspaper also backs drug decriminalization. President Santos has also said that drug legalization should be considered, and several ex-presidents support the idea.

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours