Legalized Pot Hurting Mexico Cartels & Infuriating DEA

In news that no one had to be Nostradamus to predict, the legalization of marijuana has had a ripple effect on the “War on Drugs,” massively impacting the profitability and reach of Mexican drug cartels, which are taking a huge financial hit. The cost of the “drug” has dropped on the black market, and in turn has dropped the pay to farmers growing it in Mexico from $100 a kilo to $25 since it’s so readily available legally. With growers based in the US, the demand has plummeted for cannabis that has to be smuggled into the country. The market is showing its efficacy very clearly (read a thorough breakdown on this topic from James Miller here). This is upsetting not only to the cartels, but also to the DEA.

The natural effect of legalization is for bootleggers and smugglers to die off, taking the violence that accompanies any illicit trade with them. You may remember a little thing called “alcohol prohibition,” which is universally viewed as an idiotically bad idea that cost millions of dollars (and in 1920s dollars nonetheless!) and thousands of lives. Everyone agrees it was pointless and the country was better off when it ended than when it began. The insane war against marijuana (and other drugs) falls into the same category, yet quixotically it’s only now that people seem to be waking up to that fact.

The DEA even acknowledges this fact, yet continue to vehemently support the War on Drugs.

Former DEA senior intelligence specialist Sean Dunagan told VICE News that, although it’s too early to verify the numbers: “Anything to establish a regulated legal market will necessarily cut into those profits. And it won’t be a viable business for the Mexican cartels — the same way bootleggers disappeared after prohibition fell.”


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Three-fold Increase In Mass Shootings In Step With Increased Psychiatric Drugging

The U.S. Attorney General, Eric Holder, recently announced that the rate of mass shootings in the U.S. is increasing. Although the information could hardly come as a surprise to most Americans, what is interesting is that the nation’s top cop provided no clues as to what may be causing this severe increase in deadly violent acts.

As Holder reported, the annual number of mass-shooting incidents in the U.S. has tripled since 2009 and, remarkably, the average number of shootings has increased from 5 per year before 2009 to 15 per year since.

While the data about the ever-increasing random shootings is important, it doesn’t mean spit unless someone in a position of power is willing to seriously question what is causing the violent behavior. A beginning point might be to ask if there is a common denominator among the shooters.

For instance, at the same time that mass-shootings have increased in the U.S., so has the use of prescription psychiatric drugs.  If one considers this list of well-publicized shootings between 1999 and 2013, it is clearly evident that the majority of these shooters were either taking, or strongly suspected of taking, mind-altering psychiatric drugs.

The data that reinforce the psychiatric drugs and violence connection is overwhelming.


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