I suppose from the time I was a child, various agencies have touted their successes regarding drug crackdowns and arrests. We are witnessing that same type of media spin now regarding Mexico’s cartels. Our new Attorney General held a news conference to announce that over 700 hundred people were captured and nearly 60 million dollars in cash and assets have been seized, from a large and well organized Mexican cartel. The violence associated with this cartel, rivals anything that we’ve seen coming out of the war in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. Recent events in Mexico have become so “news worthy”, (violent)  that CNN has sent reporter Michael Ware, a truly brave front line journalist, that’s been delivering the blow by blow in Iraq for years. Perhaps we are starting to realize that just off the US border, all hell is breaking loose!! Kidnappings, and be-headings have become the norm, as the cartel uses its’ formidable profits to wage war on the civilians, police and military, that get in the path of their business enterprise. I’d like to make this perfectly clear, these arrest and seizures won’t put a dent in the cartels ability to keep the drugs flowing. I concede, there may well be a slow down of deliveries for a short time, particularly in the heartland of America. However,  if you think that this problem will be solved by crushing  Mexican cartlels,  well then you believe in “flying orangutans”.  To be sure, the cartels primary adversaries are other cartels cutting in on their territories. So if the DEA and the Mexican military can manage to suppress the activity of this damaged organization, their rivals are waiting to take the helm. I have always had a healthy respect for law enforcement agencies, but this “war” they can’t win. Major cartels are similar to corporations and governments in the sense that they will do whatever is necessary to perpetuate their own existence. Systems are put in place in the event of a major crackdown, and alternate business models will be employed.

Recently I’ve been encouraged by the conversations going on in California. It seems as though the decriminalization process with regards to the growing and medicinal use of cannabis sativa (marijuana) are at hand. Various legislation has been introduced over the years, complicating the process. However, the efforts of legalization supporters and pot farmers, continue to make significant advances toward their goal. The legalization or even the decriminalization of marijuana, would be a major step in the right direction.