Mexican Mafia Conquers Oregon --- Almost!

(PORTLAND, OR) - Les Zaitz and The Oregonian have published an excellent Pulitzer Prize eligible series about Mexican cartels and drug abuse, drug addiction and death in Oregon. Strangely enough, they include marijuana in this category. This is incorrect as is shown in their own graphs showing that marijuana is widely used, up to about 40% of the population. It has never caused even one death but that even legally prescribed drugs are heavily used and caused many deaths, even compared to the real killers, heroin, cocaine, meth and what they call "combos". They even put Oregon at the top of the graph of "painkiller abuse". They print that 100,000 people in Oregon abuse these drugs.

It is comforting to me as a medical marijuana advocate and marijuana doctor, to see the Oregonian stories that got it right for once and printed the incredible safety of marijuana as compared to any of these killer drugs, but also the fact that marijuana is safer and more useful than any drug anybody can mention -- even aspirin.

In this expose of the Mexican drug cartels, they barely mention marijuana except in a few places in which they write, "The (the Mexican dealer) collected as much as $250,000 a month from a Portland marijuana dealer who ordered 100 pounds or more at a time." "Leaving California, the Mexican dealer picked up 150 pounds of marijuana on the way to Oregon."

Bare mention was made of the introduction of marijuana to Oregon. It started about 1920. I was introduced to it in 1928 when the Mexican kids were smoking "loco weed." Their fathers were "dandy dancers" working for the railroad.

There were few Mexicans living in Oregon at that time. My grandmother was a Castilian Spanish Mexican. They owned Contra Costa County with a land grant from King Phillip of Spain. She moved to Portland in about 1920 and was one of the few Mexicans in Portland at that time.

The Spanish brought marijuana from Spain and North Africa in the 1500's to the Caribbean and Mexico. In fact the first marijuana ever brought to the Caribbean was delivered by Christopher Columbus.

The Panama Canal, about 1900, was built by smokers of marijuana. At that time it was known as Mariguanga, which is either a Portuguese or Portuguese/Spanish word that represented either "the plant" or "drunk". This was the earliest American name for the substance. It was brought to the US through New Orleans and probably California by workers from Latin America. When it hit both places its use exploded.

More information on the history of Dr. Leveque can be found in his book, General Patton's Dogface Soldier of WWII about his own experiences "from a foxhole".
Order the book by mail by following this link: Dogface Soldier

Watch for more streaming video question and answer segments about medical marijuana with Bonnie King and Dr. Phil Leveque.

Click on this link for other articles and video segments about PTSD and medical marijuana on Salem-News.com:
Dr. Leveque INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Salem-News.com Marijuana Coverage

Where and How to Smoke Legal Marijuana without Fear of Arrest in the U.S.

Eulogy of a Great Warrior: Hoss Plourde

The Ripple Effect How Marijuana Laws Are Impacting Society

Audit the Audit

Welcome Home, Tom

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Anonymous July 1, 2013 6:07 am (Pacific time)

Are you surprised? The borders are open and all the trash is coming in. It's an invasion of trash, criminals and whores. They bring in murderers, child rapists, drunks, druggies, uneducated and lazy. Welcome to the bew America.

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Mexican Mafia Conquers Oregon --- Almost!

NOW ITS BEING LEGALIZED THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES!