Escalating Violence Across the Border.

Hello? United States? Terror is here. Real terror, that is. The kind that kidnaps, tortures and kills we, the people. Hello?

Where is the "War on Terror" when you really need it? For that matter, where is the "War on Drugs"? Oh, that's right, we're too busy fighting wars over 10,000 miles away; arresting phony underwear/shoe bombers, terminal cancer victims, harmless tokers,  elderly Glaucoma patients,  and worrying ourselves sick of illegal immigrants (as if tougher immigration laws will stop drug cartels) to deal with the viscous terror that's right next door. Not to mention, eliminating those nasty drug cartels might eat into the politically favored class profits.

Yet, high schools and middle schools across South Texas are becoming fertile ground for drug cartels looking to recruit young smugglers.



The death of  author Peter McWilliams.

The federal government denied him the medication he needed to live and thrive.

* In 1996 Peter was diagnosed with cancer and AIDS
* The medications he needed to treat these diseases caused extreme vomiting, and he could not keep them down long enough for them to work
* That same year, Proposition 215 legalized medical marijuana in California
* Under the recommendation of four physicians, Peter started using marijuana.
* The marijuana controlled his nausea, restored his appetite, and allowed his medications to work

Marijuana saved Peter's life, for the moment. This led him to fund research into medical marijuana and to start a business supplying it to buyer's cooperatives. The DEA took notice, raided and trashed his home, and even confiscated his computer, which contained the manuscript of his latest book.

Peter was charged with being a "drug kingpin!" And then, he was hamstrung, legally. The federal judge in the case took away his defense, barring any mention of . . .

* California's medical marijuana law
* his terminal illness
* how medical marijuana allowed him to keep down his medication and prolong his life

While the legal process dragged on, the government prevented Peter from using the marijuana that controlled his nausea. Peter was required to pass drug tests. He complied, even though his life was at risk, because . . .

* Peter's mother and brother had to put up their homes as collateral to post his bail
* If he failed the test, their homes would have been seized by the government

Peter's health deteriorated until he died at the age of 50. The vomiting had taken a tremendous toll on his alimentary canal, as well as his heart, and even his teeth. Despite the suffering, he never lost his sense of humor. And the reason I most admired him was that he felt sympathy for his tormentors, rather than rage.

Marijuana saved Peter's life, but the War on Drugs destroyed it.

Peter's most noted book was "Ain't Nobody's Business If You Do." It promoted the idea that each person can do whatever they please with their own bodies and property, so long as they don't interfere with the right of others to do the same.

Links:

The battle of the US-Mexico frontier

Springbreak in Mexico could be deadly.

Mexican 'narco culture' glamorizes drug lifestyle