COMING BACK WITH A VENGANCE!
Seriously I miss y’all.
Now to get back to the old debate here.
As many of you are well aware I despise drugs of all kinds including many prescription drugs that while they cure one ailment, cause damage to another part of the body resulting you to take more meds. Coupled with their addictive nature, it’s no wonder that pharmaceutical companies are so profitable and constantly seek to run this government through their lobbyists.
I used to live within 35 miles of the Mexican border, and the violence in the region has grown increasingly dangerous. It pains me to see my hometown region burn in violence from rival drug gangs. If you would like, you can also look up gruesome videos on youtube.com showing executions in ways that make Saddam Hussein look like a humanitarian. One in particular has a wire around an individual’s neck, twisted continuously until it completely severs the individuals’ head. Valentin Elizalde, nicknamed ‘El Gallo de Oro’ or ‘the golden rooster’, was a musician who glorified the drug trade in ‘narco-corridos’ or drug ballads. He was killed by a rival drug gang as well, and his autopsy can also be found on youtube.com. This kind of violence and lifestyle is being glorified by men like Elizalde, and these narco-corridos. With the large amounts of money coming and going into South Texas, it is no wonder that many people try and enter this trade as a way out of poverty that is rampant in my native South Texas.
Add to this the plight of native farmers in Mexico that are forced either off their lands they’ve had for years or made to grow pot on their land and see little to no profit from the sales. This same method has jumped over into the US, targeting American farmers and ranchers. Even more troubling is the corruption that breeds from the drug trade, where police and political officers are in the pockets of the drug cartels.
This is the plague that has infested the Southwest, and this is because the United States is the most doped up country in the world, so it is no wonder that Mexico is the largest producer of pot in the world. At what point do we look at ourselves and evaluate our actions and see what we do to the rest of the world? We’re exploiting the Middle East, and each of you are well aware of the United States actions and condemn them as inhumane. Yet at the same time you’ve exploited neighbors south of you, the very same people who live on the same continent as you…are their lives less meaningless to you? To be humane is to be someone who cares about humanity and the loss of life, and the drug trade is killing people all over the Southwest. I understand that the majority of you live too far north to see this first hand, but I suggest that you do some research and see for yourself what the demand for pot does to others.
I’m well aware of the suggestion that if pot was legal that maybe the violence would stop, however, you have to also remember, 7 years after prohibition, people were still being arrested for bootlegging and smuggling, and the violence associated with bootlegging was also still around. When pot becomes legalized, (and I do mean when because unfortunately I do see pot being legalized in my lifetime), I promise you that government will regulate the amount, the age limit of those who can use this substance, and the potency of it as well. Kids who cannot legally purchase the government regulated drugs will turn to the illegal stuff. We have drunk drivers killing thousands every year; expect that number to double when pot becomes legal. And understand that pot will continue to flow over from Mexico, more potent, and even more violent than what we have here today.
man i miss the debates!