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Oct-13-2011 19:29
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Is Laura Duffy's Attack on Pot Advocacy for Mexican Drug Cartels?
Op-Ed by Tim King Salem-News.comDuffy's after the easy targets and her motives are questionable.
 Laura Duffy |
(SAN DIEGO) - Americans in 16 states with California at the forefront, want medical marijuana, but the U.S. federal government and its dogs of war do not care and they're doing everything in their power to gnaw and litigate away at this natural herb which was criminalized under ridiculous circumstances in the first place.
The U.S. drug war is a failure and now Mexico has been overrun by violent cartels supplied by weapons from the U.S. government; much more viscous than those who came before them. They are in control of entire regions, and Obama's top prosecutors are picking on the wrong people, pursuing bad agendas.
Feds Target Media
The latest round of threats from the federal govt. is toward media that allow medical marijuana dispensaries in California to advertise, and the torch bearer at the head of this pack typifies everything that is wrong with U.S. politics today is a lesbian named Laura E. Duffy.
She's the U.S. Attorney in San Diego who wants to destroy the California we know while taking a dump on the people of the state who have their own highly established law.
I wouldn't reference the part about her sexual preference, but it is preposterous that a member of a group that has wrongly received so much needless persecution and hatred, would turn on another vulnerable group like the sick medical marijuana patients, many of whom are senior citizens.
The fight for those state laws have been arduous, costly, and they have involved millions of man hours and years of successful political activism.
 Courtesy: potimages.com |
They were drafted with the medical expertise of great men like Dr. Tod Mikuriya, who was targeted by the government for his views.
His longtime friend, our writer Dr. Phil Leveque, a WWII War Vet who helped Oregon establish its medical marijuana law, had the same experience and the state pulled his license for frivolous reasons.
This is the story of marijuana legalization in America, a country whose founders like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were active users. My favorite quote: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp, and playing my Hohner harmonica." - Abraham Lincoln
California Watch, which is founded by the Center for Investigative Reporting, published the news about Duffy's ambitions today:This month, U.S. attorneys representing four districts in California announced that the government would single out landlords and property owners who rent buildings or land where dispensaries sell or cultivators grow marijuana. Now, newspapers and other media outlets could be next.
U.S. Attorney Laura E. Duffy, whose district includes Imperial and San Diego counties, said marijuana advertising is the next area she's "going to be moving onto as part of the enforcement efforts in Southern California." Duffy said she could not speak for the three other U.S. attorneys covering the state but noted their efforts have been coordinated so far.
"I'm not just seeing print advertising," Duffy said in an interview with California Watch and KQED. "I'm actually hearing radio and seeing TV advertising. It's gone mainstream. Not only is it inappropriate – one has to wonder what kind of message we're sending to our children – it's against the law."
Duffy's only thought on California's somewhat sane and logical marijuana laws, is that she wants to trump and make a mockery of them. She must think California voters are a real joke, and what faith can this federal undermining of state law have in a nation riddled with voter apathy?
I suspect one simple thing, that Duffy is tied into the Mexican drug cartels. Exactly how we can't say, but we know that the Murders in Mexico are simply out of control and drugs are always what it's about, and the supplier is always the American public. Obama knows this, Holder knows this, and Duffy knows it.
During her years as a federal prosecutor, Duffy spent most of her time in narcotics, so perhaps that explains why she wants to target sick people and their medicinal suppliers since they are technically 'drug users'. One thing is for sure, it is easy pickings in terms of police work. People at medical marijuana dispensaries legal under California law don't shoot at police, they just get arrested in a place where simultaneous laws exist.
The real problems in Southern California are gang-based and the people this woman should be pursuing are dangerous and not such easy targets, I sure hope she doesn't conduct this business with the expectation of earning a medal. There are often so many murders in LA in a single day that the news stations don't report them all. It isn't as bad in San Diego but there are plenty of gangs and thugs and rapists and human traffickers and many more deadly dangerous characters. When top law officials lose their sense of priorities, real crime is allowed to flourish.
And let's not forget that California lost a major amount of law enforcement funding a few months ago, causing the state attorney general to announce a long list of cuts, many of which were to gang enforcement activities. So the state targets medical marijuana patients?
She is noted for having successfully prosecuted members of a Tijuana-based drug cartel, known as Arellano Felix Organization (AFO), but her region in San Diego and Imperial Counties only accounts for a small part of the drug smuggling action taking place along the U.S. border.
As we have reported so many times, through the help of our Photojournalist Robert Plumlee in the Las Cruces/Columbus area of New Mexico, the heavy duty violence is seen in that region, and in Juarez this year there have been 1700 Murders so far, and it is only October.
One strange connection is that law enforcement is rife with corruption; suspected of working with cartels, are recipients of large amounts of money for so-called of High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) cases.
In one case, in New Mexico, all of the items supplied with HITDA funds to one particular agency, were handed over to the los Zetas cartel. The items included high power weapons, night vision and body armor. The feds have either no connection to where their money actually goes, or it is all part of the same corruption.
The Mexican cartels are being supplied and aided by an entity in the U.S. federal government of great stature, that is a fact. The idea that this could be a high profile federal prosecutor in California seems more than possible.
One of the latest and strongest complaints coming out of Mexico is that the C.I.A. is in place arming particular cartels, to continue their wars with cartels apparently seen as 'worse' or more deadly. The levels of corruption are high and we should examine the people who are foolishly trying to interpret and enforce law.
Feds Have Bad Track Record
Duffy works for the federal government and the 'Fast and Furious' Gun Walking operation that delivered almost 1800 weapons into the hands of cartels, used to later kill two U.S. agents, was a U.S. federal program. Her boss is Eric Holder, who recently lied to a California Congressman about his knowledge of the gunrunning operation. It all earns my no faith vote.
Relaxing the threat against medical marijuana is the absolute answer to what is taking place, and while I can't say the notion of legalizing all drugs sits well with me, I consider that it is the ultimate reality that we may have to embrace. Logic and reason are absent in the federal ranks, and the potential alliances are frightening.
We know that decriminalizing archaic drug laws and treating our drug addicted citizens as sick people rather than criminals, would benefit all of society, and allow us to once again fill our prisons with dangerous people instead of drug addicts.
But back to marijuana. The big pharma industry is obviously behind the maddening efforts to crucify the legal medical marijuana industry; it threatens that collective of the richest companies in America whose products addict and kill. Marijuana has never killed anybody, it can't be taken in fatal doses.
But there is a mystery behind how hundreds of thousands of brand new U.S. weapons that found their way across the border without detection. I think that if Duffy cared about Americans, she would have her priorities set in an entirely different way. Demonizing marijuana is her 'gig' and she has too much power, too little respect for state law, it screams of an ulterior motive.
If marijuana were fully decriminalized, the cartels would take a big hit economically. If suddenly there was no market for crappy brown Mexican weed, or even the better stuff, it would stimulate the California economy greatly and it would reduce the flow, put some drugrunners on the unemployment list.
Tim King: Salem-News.com Editor and Writer
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com's Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines.
Tim holds awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Silver Spoke Award by the National Coalition of Motorcyclists (2011), Excellence in Journalism Award by the Oregon Confederation of Motorcycle Clubs (2010), Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), First-place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon. Tim was a member of the National Press Photographer's Association for several years and is a current member of the Orange County Press Club.
Serving the community in very real terms, Salem-News.com is the nation's only truly independent high traffic news Website. As News Editor, Tim among other things, is responsible for publishing the original content of 91 Salem-News.com writers. He reminds viewers that emails are easily missed and urges those trying to reach him, to please send a second email if the first goes unanswered. You can write to Tim at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
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Anonymous October 15, 2011 10:36 am (Pacific time)
Actually, the bankers do not care who is in charge of the drug cartels, as long as the cartels launder their money in their banks. Wachovia/wellsfargo/etc. The drug cartels that dont go along with the bankers, are killed by the banker financed drug cartels that do. Its happening in the U.S. also. Mexico did not create Los zetas, the bankers did. The bankers own the mexican government. In fact, as mentioned on MSM even, what I have been saying for a decade is' goldman sachs DOES own the world. They own it by manipulating governments.. I just read an article how Canada is ready to 100% support NATO. Even tho NATO is killing tens of thousands of Libyan citizens..They own Canada, the own Australia, the UK, the U.S., Israel (the bankers actually created israel)..They run drugs, they run guns, they are into eugenics to kill us all off..These are very sick people. But, they have been around for centuries, are very powerful, they own ALL the mainstream media, they own the education and medical systems (all taken over in 1900), People should start getting out of the box and start researching what is really going on in this world.
Daniel October 14, 2011 9:28 am (Pacific time)
A little history on the MOST VIOLENT of the cartels los Zetas . The Mexican government came up with the bright idea of creating a powerful anti drug military unit , so they did . Unfortunately this anti drug military unit had a number who left the unit to create their own gang to act as enforcers for the cartels . After a few years they decide they are the real power and start a war against their former drug cartel employers for control of the trade . Now there is new younger groups fighting the Zetas for control promising the Mexican people a less violent and ruthless interaction with less violence toward civilians . Shows Mexican government interaction just made a very bad situation worse .
malcolm kyle October 14, 2011 6:58 am (Pacific time)
These 'fast and furious' gun-running Feds are not only guilty of perjury and murder but also of bankrolling ruthless criminals, international terrorists, right/left-wing paramilitaries and various death squads with their counter-productive, sado-moralist policy of Prohibition.
Colombia, Peru, Mexico or Afghanistan with their coca leaves, marijuana buds or poppy sap are not igniting temptation in the minds of our weak, innocent citizens. These countries are duly responding to the enormous demand that comes from within our own borders. Invading or destroying these countries, thus creating more hate, violence, instability, injustice and corruption, will not fix our problem. We need to collectively admit that we are sick. -- Prohibition is neither a sane nor a safe approach; left unabated, its puritanical flames will surely engulf every last one of us!
When we legally regulate something, (as opposed to when we foolishly attempt to prohibit something) we do NOT automatically condone it's use; the legal regulations concerning the sale and manufacture of alcohol and tobacco are there to protect us from the vast increase in criminality and mayhem that would otherwise surely exist if we were foolish enough to prohibit them.
When governments prohibit drugs they effectively and knowingly hand a monopoly on their sale to dangerous criminals and terrorists. Without a legal framework in which to operate, these black-market entities can always be expected to settle their disputes violently, while terrorizing many peaceful and innocent citizens in the process. Were the users of alcohol to blame for the St Valentines massacre in the US in 1929? Of course not! It is just as naive to assume that one can compel all the users of Marijuana or Cocaine to simply quit, as it is to assume that all the users of Alcohol should have stopped drinking after the introduction of alcohol prohibition in 1919.
Protect our Children; Legalize, Regulate and Tax!
Editor: Excellent post, as was Daniel's about the Zeta cartel, many thanks.
jd October 14, 2011 12:19 am (Pacific time)
Petition (Online) >>> We still need over 4,000 Signatures >>> Only 12 Days to go!!!
Prisoners being held for the peaceful,non-violent possession,sale,transport or cultivation of cannabis must be released http://wh.gov/gf3
I just started a petition on the White House petitions site, We the People.
Will you sign it? http://wh.gov/gf3
We the People allows anyone to create and sign petitions asking the Obama
Administration to take action on a range of issues. If a petition gets
enough support, the Obama Administration will issue an official response.
PapaSmurf October 14, 2011 12:14 am (Pacific time)
They NEVER should have made prison a business. Get rid of the private prisons. It's the conviction that they are after. More revenue. Strapped Police Run on Federal Pot-Fighting Cash..in pursuit of marijuana growers, the law enforcent departments are eligible for roughly half a million dollars a year in federal anti-drug funding.
Richard P Steeb October 13, 2011 9:26 pm (Pacific time)
"It's against the law." THAT is the problem, Ms Duffy. FIX the LAW.
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