Spring Break
The political power of smoking pot
Alex Stephens
Issue date: 3/13/09 Section: Opinion
If you're on campus reading this, you most likely have an exam, as that can be the only reason for not being halfway to Cancun by now. Good luck on the test and try not to think about the rest of us already kickin' it.
Oh, speaking of Cancun, if you're planning on going there, try to avoid coming home in a body bag.
Now, more than any other time in the past decade, the drug war is raging like a wildfire across Mexico. Elementary school children are leaving class to find a dozen tongueless bodies piled up across the street. Retired generals, hired to clean up the corrupt police, are being tortured, murdered and left on the roadside by drug cartels.
According to The New York Times, the number of drug related murders has doubled in the past year.
Recently, CIA Director George Tenet warned his college-age son against going south of the border for break in an e-mail that's being circulated around East Coast universities. Yeah, being kidnapped or shot might not make for the best break.
Here's how we can do our part to curb the violence: Stop smoking Mexican dope! Think green, buy locally grown.
The National Drug Threat Assessment of 2005 reports that marijuana production is overwhelmingly controlled by organized crime in both Mexico and Canada -- our border nations. They smuggled vast quantities of pot into the U.S. because every year it becomes increasingly more valuable.
Since organized crime -- the drug cartels -- runs the business, illegal foreign marijuana is in large part (I do acknowledge the smuggling of harder drugs as well) directly responsible for the grisly slayings of thousands along the border and in Mexico itself.
Back in the 1800s, organized crime made one of its first profits by counterfeiting money due to its replicable attributes and lack of uniformity in all parts of the nation. When money was standardized, the mafia no longer made bank off of it.
The same goes with prohibition when alcohol was legalized once again, organized crime stopped exploiting it. The same goes for gun laws. And, you guessed it, the same trend follows for drugs.
Oh, speaking of Cancun, if you're planning on going there, try to avoid coming home in a body bag.
Now, more than any other time in the past decade, the drug war is raging like a wildfire across Mexico. Elementary school children are leaving class to find a dozen tongueless bodies piled up across the street. Retired generals, hired to clean up the corrupt police, are being tortured, murdered and left on the roadside by drug cartels.
According to The New York Times, the number of drug related murders has doubled in the past year.
Recently, CIA Director George Tenet warned his college-age son against going south of the border for break in an e-mail that's being circulated around East Coast universities. Yeah, being kidnapped or shot might not make for the best break.
Here's how we can do our part to curb the violence: Stop smoking Mexican dope! Think green, buy locally grown.
The National Drug Threat Assessment of 2005 reports that marijuana production is overwhelmingly controlled by organized crime in both Mexico and Canada -- our border nations. They smuggled vast quantities of pot into the U.S. because every year it becomes increasingly more valuable.
Since organized crime -- the drug cartels -- runs the business, illegal foreign marijuana is in large part (I do acknowledge the smuggling of harder drugs as well) directly responsible for the grisly slayings of thousands along the border and in Mexico itself.
Back in the 1800s, organized crime made one of its first profits by counterfeiting money due to its replicable attributes and lack of uniformity in all parts of the nation. When money was standardized, the mafia no longer made bank off of it.
The same goes with prohibition when alcohol was legalized once again, organized crime stopped exploiting it. The same goes for gun laws. And, you guessed it, the same trend follows for drugs.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Bdygard
Craig Hawley
posted 3/13/09 @ 1:20 AM MST
Right on Alex. Great article. Well thought out and said.
I only buy American , as I grow my own and buy from Medical Marijuana stores I know get their supplies from local growers. (Continued…)
jimmy
posted 3/13/09 @ 7:19 AM MST
well said.
Cheers!
Allie
posted 3/18/09 @ 11:07 AM MST
Thanks, Alex. It's refreshing to see such a cohesive argument on the topic of legalizing marijuana.
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