The United States Border Patrol is using six Predator-B unmanned drones to search along the U.S. border with Mexico for marijuana smuggling.

Although not armed like the ones used in Afghanistan, these drones can see with incredible resolution and show the Border Patrol what is happening on the ground in real time. Each drone costs about $ 20 million.

Since they began using the drones, the CBP has seized 46,600 pounds of marijuana, which is about 0.003% of all marijuana they have seized over the past 6 years, which is itself only a small fraction of the total amount of marijuana that has crossed the border.

So what is the point exactly? Well, General Atomics gets $ 20 million of taxpayer’s money for each plane and politicians can point to the program and say “see, we are doing something” when in reality the border is wide open. And government agents get a cool new gadget that allows them to never have to leave their chair in an air-conditioned building.

Money well spent?

- Joe Klare

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