Several states have legalized marijuana on the ballot this year and I know it is because the state and federal agencies have been fighting the drug war wrong.

The states say they are doing so to reap millions in taxes that would have gone to the drug cartels. Colorado found they have more traffic accidents, more hospital visits, and higher insurance rates after legalizing. A recent study by the state showed a net loss. Surrounding states had the costs without the offsetting income.

Legalizing an illegal drug means capitulating the war because local governments didn’t get into the real fight by arresting the users. We have spent trillions trying to stop the growers, refiners, transporters, wholesalers, and retailers. It doesn’t take a degree in economics or business to know those in the drug business is easily replaceable. The people who aren’t replaceable are the users. Stop people from using and the entire trade will collapse.

My suggestion is to quit sending billions to other countries to fight drugs. Spend it here on low security work farms for recreational users. Recreational users are the majority users of marijuana, cocaine, and meth. That alone would cut the majority of the trade. Higher security and drug treatment would reduce sales to those who are addicted.

Is it possible to do this? Yes! Will it happen? NO! Why not? Because arresting voters, contributors, and “nice people and their kids” is unacceptable to those in elected offices. Locking up those people for a week or two would require guts and those in elected office are gutless. It is better to blame the cartels who are just satisfying our desires. It isn’t the American’s fault; it’s the Cartel’s fault.

Let us say we want to stop the sale of a foreign made product in the United States. Historically we would do what we could do to stop people from buying the product. We would talk about the terrible conditions and the abuse of the workers making the product. If that didn’t work then we would pass laws to prevent the product from being bought and used. This has always worked with one exception — “illegal” drugs.

For years we have been doing a half-way effort to stop the drug use in our country. As I watch Clear and Present Danger, which was based on Tom Clancy’s book, it shows we have been fighting this war the wrong way. We have spent billions and billions in the Latin Countries fighting the growers, processors, transporters, importers, wholesalers and the retailers. We have killed and locked up tens of thousands here and abroad and yet each year more drugs enter our country.

Long ago we arrested the drug users but that became politically unfeasible when the “good” people started using heroin. It became fashionable when the drug of choice was cocaine and used by the rich and influential, thus penalizing the users was out.

If you want to stop the use of illegal drugs, quit going after the replaceable people involved in the drug trade and stop the use. Arrest the hard users and the recreational users. Put them to work cleaning toilets in bad weather, picking up trash along highways and rivers, etc. for an increasing amount of time each time they are caught. If that doesn’t work, lock them up in a special jail or camp.

If Trump wants to get serious then he must give the local and state governments directions to arrest the poor, middle class, rich, his political base and even his friends. That’s the only way to end the problem.