US DEMAND FOR POT FUNDS DRUG CARTELS

If you've ever taken a class that dealt with material culture, you
know that a T-shirt is much more than just a shirt. It was born in a
factory somewhere, likely overseas. It was transported a distance to
reach the retailer, likely a long distance. It finally arrived at the
retailer and you bought it, likely because you appreciated its look or
low price.

So, for a politically mindful person, the decision over which shirt to
buy takes into account more than just brands, sales and funny
one-liners. Where was the shirt made? How much are the workers in that
country paid? Was it made in a sweatshop? Was child labor involved?
These are the questions you should ask about all the items you
purchase, and not just the legal ones.

Last week, an unnamed Mexican drug cartel decided to intimidate the
rival Juarez cartel by skinning 36-year-old Hugo Hernandez's face and
stitching it onto a soccer ball. The ball was left in a plastic bag
near City Hall in Los Mochis, Mexico. The rest of his body was divided
into pieces and exhibited in several other locations.

Unimaginably, brutality like this has become commonplace in Mexico
since the drug war began three years ago. More than 15,000 people have
been killed in the maelstrom of fighting among rival drug cartels and
authorities.

Just as it is ignorant not to see the social implications behind a
T-shirt stitched in Thailand, it is ignorant not to understand how the
violence in Mexico connects to our purchasing habits in the U.S. The
major money-maker of these cartels is marijuana, and the vast majority
of this drug is being sold to Americans -to college students like us.
Many students say marijuana is not harmful; that smoking it is a
victimless crime because it doesn't hurt them personally. This is a
notion that is foolish at best, selfish at worst. Buying marijuana
supports oppression of the Mexican people. If you are purchasing drugs
of any kind from unknown sources, you may very well have blood on your
hands.