AS if the personal destruction that accompanies drug abuse is not enough, recent events in Latin America are ample proof that an unleashed illegal drug industry can fuel tremendous social turmoil as it inevitably turns violent and, all too often, murderous. In Rio de Janeiro, police invaded a slum dominated by violent drug gangs as if it were invading a foreign country after a week-long campaign that resulted in dozens of deaths. It may seem strange that in a country as long established as Brazil, a police official was trumpeting the success of the police action as an affirmation of “the power of the state”, but the slum was completely in the hands of drug dealers and had for years been operating beyond any recognized authority. It's a slightly different state of affairs in Mexico where dozens if not hundreds of deaths have occurred in the past year near the US border as drug gang violence has reached an unprecedented level of viciousness. People are being regularly gunned down as authorities appear unable to stem the violence or the drug trade in Mexico. The large-scale poverty in both Brazil and Mexico are at the root of the problem. Despite financial numbers that show Brazil to be a burgeoning world player, there is still a huge underclass with little education and little opportunity to enter the workforce. Dealing in drugs may seem like the only way-out for some, whether they are in Brazil or Mexico. Looking in from the outside, the two countries are perfect arguments to keep drug laws strict and, even, extreme in the Middle East. Although the cultures and economies are quite different, an influx of drugs and an increase in drug use can foster violence here just as it has elsewhere. We are all better-off with drugs off the street, and their importation closely policed. __
