[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 82 (Thursday, May 17, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H5336]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICANS' LUST FOR NARCOTICS

  (Mr. POE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. POE. Mr. Speaker, the border war is increasingly more violent 
because of the drug cartels seizing control of areas in Mexico to 
manufacture drugs.
  According to the Associated Press, President Calderon has called out 
the Mexican military to take out the drug smugglers. But some say the 
drug cartels have more money and outgun even the military. Recently, 
seven journalists reporting on the ``drug war'' have been murdered, the 
second most dangerous place for a reporter in the world next to Iraq. 
Thousands of Mexican citizens have been killed in the violence.
  But the problem is not just in Mexico. As long as the United States 
does not protect our borders, the drug barons will continue to ship 
those drugs to America.
  Some estimate the cartels make between $10 and $30 billion a year 
shipping that cancer to America.
  But the problem has a third ingredient. It is not enough for the 
military to control the violence in Mexico. It is not enough for us to 
secure our borders. But the violence will continue until the American 
consumers curb their lustful appetite for narcotics.
  And that's just the way it is.

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