Comments on DONDEQUIERA: Implications of Puerto Rico being a popular drug s...

what you're writting is a true that we the peo...

2009-10-31T12:16:35.791-04:30

what you're writting is a true that we the people of Puerto Rico have to live, but why? people that had never lived here say that the drug that enter the USA is tru P.R. I Know that it is easear to bleame some one, rather to realize that the USA have same problem that we do, poor security. It hurt alot because we are good people and offer the turist alot of kinnes and love, and this is the way the US cittizen paid us, no matter what the outsider said we are "The Isla Del Encanto" and we are proud of it.

Having become a huge fan of "Weeds" I...

2009-10-23T22:46:48.338-04:30

Having become a huge fan of "Weeds" I'm all for compassionate care through medical marijuana boutiques.

I'm not sure what it really implies by changing Puerto Rico to an international origin. While Marcos seems to know more about the equity and interstate commerce implications, I have to admit that I thought it seemed simple.

Think of it this way, I assume that Customs does a reasonable job catching drugs shipped from Turkey, Afghanistan, Columbia, why don't we just make cargo shipments from Puerto Rico go through the same control points?

Your idea would only work if the US, as a whole, decriminalized drugs. And that will never happen. Why, there's too much money in it for those waging the war against drugs. Funny, I wonder why they don't include the war on drugs when they're counting the number of wars we're fighting?

Here's a simple thought experiment to illustrate the stupidity of the war on drugs. If we win, what ever that means, who will be surrendering to US?

Your solution--and it is a solution--takes the dru...

2009-10-23T21:50:24.580-04:30

Your solution--and it is a solution--takes the drug interdiction/faux war that We are losing to the extreme of "more": more police, more patrols, more "security," more restrictions, etc.

What about the other extreme, the "less"? Legalize drugs. The few examples We have (in Europe) seem to favor a "less is more" approach. On the other hand, the European experiments are in countries with vastly lower murder rates than Ours, and though that might argue for the "less" (We have kids dying by the hundreds so Let's DO something), it speaks of an experiment in a different "lab."

Thank you both (Marcos and Scylas) for participati...

2009-10-22T09:31:35.333-04:30

Thank you both (Marcos and Scylas) for participating and sharing your perspectives.

What worries me most is that only when a crime of the magnitude of Toa Baja occurs, does the problem of drugs or drug trafficking get discussed.

In my eyes, this problem is a cancer that grows within our community. Without new ideas, new solutions, new "treatments", and the willingness to recognize the relationship this disease has with many of our other problems, then we give this disease free reign to ravage our communities.

Interesting post but a bit misleading. Ill divide ...

2009-10-21T17:16:23.645-04:30

Interesting post but a bit misleading. Ill divide my reply in a few bullets to keep it short:

(1) Tourism accounts for a lot of the GDP in Puerto Rico. If you make Puerto Rico an international destination you will now compete more directly vs Antigua, Jamaica, Dom Rep, etc for the American tourists... btw.. Puerto Rico is more expensive to visit than these other countries so you would certainly see a decline in tourism which means less $ and less jobs.

(2) I would wager that the higher homicide/crime rate in Puerto Rico is a direct result of the poor education system.

I am willing to bet you will find a strong correlation in Education vs Crime Rate/Muerder Rate.

60% of Puerto Ricans have a high school degree and only 18% have a bachelors or higher. Drop out rate is close to 40% and government programs are lackuster and poorly implemented.

Puerto Rico is in the bottom 5 "states" of the US when it comes to education.

(3) Same as above but look at GDP per Capita. Puerto Rico has the lowest GDP per capita in the US... a lot lower than Missisipi (2nd lowest).

Its a viscious circle:
Bad Education --> Poor Governments (elected democratically) --> Bad Management --> Poor Results...

If PR was not part of the US it would be on the same level as Dom Rep.

You have correctly identified the issue, and it sh...

2009-10-21T17:00:50.275-04:30

You have correctly identified the issue, and it should be placed squarely on the shoulders of the federal government because it is a national security issue. They should be able to protect our coastlines (and Vieques, a popular drop-off) from speedboats and planes delivering their deadly cargo. UAVs and latest technology must be deployed to this purpose before it reaches us. All sorts of equity and interstate commerce elements come into play the moment you decide to place a security fence between Puerto Rico and the states, so that will not happen. Also, note that drug shipment is paid for, not in cash, but in merchandise, so that is the source of our internal problem.