[legion]

The way I see it, gangs can exist because they are sitting on top of a gold mine. I mean, the sale of illegal drugs is their bread and butter. They can make huge sums of cash, and it's worth it to those involved.

I think trying to directly combat them is difficult, but they could easily be destroyed if we went after their financing. I'm not talking about seizures, we already do that and the more we step up our efforts, the more violent and ruthless the gangs become. I'm talking about co-opting their source of funding. Legalize drugs, all drugs. Tax the stuff 100%, 200%, or 300%. Get rid of the tax-payer-dollar-wasting DEA. The junkies are going to get their stuff regardless, no point in wasting my tax money on such a futile endeavor.

That being said, when I was in high school, I couldn't get a hold of alcohol for the life of me because I would have had to go through legitimate channels. Drugs (had I wanted them) were just a phone call away.

Before I get flamed for being a bleeding heart: I'm pretty much a hard-core conservative, except on this one issue.