It's mostly related to the recent outbreak of violence in Ciudad Juarez, but Tony Norman's column this morning ("Stop the drug war now, more than ever") is one in a recent slew of opinion pieces advocating that the U.S. would be safer, less cash-strapped, and much easier to manage if drug use was treated rather than prosecuted. CNN's even got a story about the national legalization conversation. "It's the least worst option to ending the cartel violence," says El Paso, Texas, city Councilman Robert O'Rourke.

Gotta wonder when "least worst" becomes "only," and how that transition effects not only health care, but also other forms of legal and illegal commerce. As this HuffPo writer points out, "If as a consequence of legalization, cocaine will no longer be a profitable business, the mafias will turn ... to other illegal and lucrative profits. New waves of violence will accompany this process of mutation."

So is legalization feasible? Or just a dangerous, shoot-from-the-hip solution to an incredibly complicated problem?

More links:

--"Firepower and Bloodshed: Houston's Underworld Connection with Mexican Drug Cartels"

--"Hamsterdam"

--"How Bad is the Kidnapping Problem in Mexico?"

--And some Peter Tosh for the ride home: