The mayor of a Mexican city plagued by drug violence has been murdered less than a week after taking office.

Alejandro Arcos was found dead on Sunday in Chilpancingo, a city of around 280,000 people in the southwestern state of Guerrero. He had been mayor for six days.

Evelyn Salgado, the state governor, said the city was in mourning over a murder that “fills us with indignation”. His death came three days after the city government’s new secretary, Francisco Tapia, was shot dead.

Authorities have not released details of the investigation, or suspects. However, Guerrero is one of the worst-affected states for drug violence and drug cartels have murdered dozens of politicians across the country.

    • deranger@sh.itjust.works
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      26 days ago

      Why would it? It’s the bulkiest, smelliest, lowest cost drug there is. Mexican weed sucked ass too. Moving cocaine or especially ultra high strength opiate analogs is significantly more lucrative.

      Making things illegal doesn’t work. Not alcohol, not drugs, not abortion. It needs to be addressed by education. The current just say no abstinence approach leaves people ill prepared for when they encounter drugs. Our relationship with drugs is fucked, currently. Altering our state of consciousness with drugs is a fundamental part of being human.

      • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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        26 days ago

        The whole argument for legalizing weed was that it would cripple the cartels.

        That doesn’t seem like it’s worked so much.

        So again, we have to legalize cocaine before the cartels are weakened?

        Then we have to legalize heroin? Fentanyl? Anything else?

        I’m in favor of legalizing weed, but this seems a lot like it’s actually not helping.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.works
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          26 days ago

          I don’t know anyone who was touting the cartels as a reason to legalize weed… weed is usually being legalized because 1) it’s (relatively) harmless, 2) it has medicinal uses, 3) it was outlawed for racist reasons, and 4) it was causing mass incarceration and devastating black communities due to clearly racist enforcement.

        • The Assman@sh.itjust.works
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          26 days ago

          The whole argument for legalizing weed was that it would cripple the cartels

          The whole argument, or the part of the argument that you are able to argue against? In my opinion the “whole argument” is that getting caught with relatively harmless plant matter shouldn’t ruin your entire life.

        • CliveRosfield@lemmy.world
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          26 days ago

          It’s harsh, but El Salvador did what was necessary to fix their problem. They saved countless men, women, and children both inside and outside their country from monsters walking in human skin.

            • CliveRosfield@lemmy.world
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              25 days ago

              And yet vast majority of their population had him at over 90% approval and thought everything he did was necessary to maintain order.

              There’s already far more trauma, and even more to be inflicted if he didn’t go all out against gangs. If you aren’t from that area or other similarly dangerous country you wouldn’t really get how desperate it gets. He 100% was necessary.

              They’re no longer the murder capital of the world and safer than even Canada. Women can actually walk outside and children can play.

        • deranger@sh.itjust.works
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          26 days ago

          The whole argument for legalizing weed was that it would cripple the cartels.

          First I’ve heard of this, and I’d consider myself a pretty big follower of drugs and drug culture. Who thought weed was lucrative for cartels? The plant you can easily grow, and is challenging to transport?

          Calling it the “whole argument” is very disingenuous. People have the right to get high.

          Then we have to legalize heroin? Fentanyl? Anything else?

          Yeah, all of it. You can legally buy chemical analogs of just about any class of drugs because the laws simply can’t keep up. Prohibition isn’t working, and it hasn’t ever. What you’re seeing today is a result of prohibition (and prescription painkillers in the 00s, I’d argue).

          The problem won’t be fixed by making things illegal. What, are you going to make opiates more illegal or something? Education and learning how to have a proper relationship with mind altering substances is the way forward, IMO.

          Shoutout to erowid.org.

          • Dasus@lemmy.world
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            24 days ago

            Hey hey hey.

            You’re a smart feller. I only wish I knew people like you in real life. I’ve held these opinions for more than ten years, and during that time, a whole fucking bunch of my “friends” have stripped being in contact after I’ve talked to them about my views about prohibition.

            Which is ironic, because their actions (or inaction, rather) and aversion to talking about the prohibition is what is actually holding up the prohibition, which is what enables most of drug abuse. So they thought I was defending drug abuse, while it’s their position which literally supports it’s existence.

            I came up with a slogan some 15 years ago.

            “Legalise, educate, tax and regulate.”

            Shoutout to erowid.org.

            Respect

        • Dasus@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          The whole argument for legalizing weed was that it would cripple the cartels

          Lol no it wasn’t.

          So again, we have to legalize cocaine before the cartels are weakened?

          Oh definitely. All drugs, actually, I’d say.

          Here’s a question for you. Is the reason you don’t shoot up opiate that they’re illegal? If you could legally get them, you’d shoot up? (And please, don’t answer with “well I wouldn’t, but like others…”)

          I’m in favor of legalizing weed, but this seems a lot like it’s actually not helping.

          Have you read any science about legalising, decriminalising, etc?

          Because it all shows it’s worth it.

          • InverseParallax@lemmy.world
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            24 days ago

            Here’s a question for you. Is the reason you don’t shoot up opiate that they’re illegal? If you could legally get them, you’d shoot up?

            Honestly, I’d absolutely do coke if it were legal, and it would almost surely fuck me up.

            I might not do opiates, but honestly, if I had back pain or surgery and they gave me opiates, I probably would take it up after.

            Because that’s how a LOT of people take up drugs.

            Drugs aren’t good, you just like them, they’re nasty because they break assumptions evolution made, and we’re not quite ready for that yet.

            If nukes were legal, do you think everyone could be trusted with them? Because most people have self-control, but not all, and before you say “Drugs don’t hurt other people!”, yes, they absolutely do, you just don’t give a shit about them.