I want to preface this with an admission – I once upon a time smoked pot. However, once I became a father, that stopped cold, almost exactly 30 years ago. However, I do have insight into this area. In general, I’m convinced that pot is far less damaging to society than alcohol and I’m sure eventually a preponderance of medical and sociological studies will prove this. For years I have supported legalizing pot, for a number of reasons. It is far less damaging physically than either cigarette smoking or alcohol abuse. Another factor is that over the past two generations, we’ve ruined the lives of millions of young Americans with arrest records. But there is another factor; we have been feeding the beast south of the border. Violent drug cartels have made so much money smuggling pot through Mexico that Mexico is a borderline failed state – when the rule of law is no longer effective. Narcos have had sufficient cash to bribe government officials, police, and possibly even military leaders to ensure they are above the law. We can’t take all the money out of the drug trade, but we can diminish their power significantly. It’s just like your personal finances; once you get used to living your life at a certain salary, if you suddenly take even a 10% cut, it can radically change your life. What if your income suddenly fell to only 1/3 of last year’s? That would really hurt. Well, the results are coming in now. Prices for wholesale pot sold out of the Mexican state of Sinaloa have now fallen from $100 per kilo to $30 per kilo, according to a Dec. 30 report in the LA Times. At that price, one of the smaller farmers in the report says this will be his last year of growing pot. Corn is now more profitable. According to Juan Guerra, Sinaloa’s Agriculture Secretary: “People don't want to abandon their illicit crops, but more and more they are realizing that it is no longer good business.” Here’s why. This is the state-by-state map of marijuana laws in the U.S. It’s still totally illegal in nearly half of the states, however look at the results. Since 2010, the number of Mexican acres under marijuana cultivation has declined by over 25% - from 44,000 acres down to 32,000 acres this year, according to the Mexican Attorney General's office. In that same period, the number arrests by federal agents involving foreign-grown marijuana dropped by nearly 50%. I couldn’t find an estimate for reductions in cartel profits, but you can be sure it has plummeted. And, as the little growers give up, they will continue to plummet for the foreseeable future. This is good news, because if there is one thing that should guide the US policy to Mexico it should be to do whatever it takes to return Mexico to a real republic run for the benefit of the governed. Of course, we seem to have that problem in the United States of late as well. I’m still reporting from Washington. Good day.

For the first time in 170 years the British Parliament is going to debate how money is created. Amazing! Debate will be broadcast live on Thursday, Nov. 20, starting between 12:30 and 1 pm GMT, or 07:30 EST on the Parliament channel: http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Home.aspx