Many of our clients come to us because of crystal meth. It causes a sense of euphoria, keeps the tired going, reduces appetite, and Americans cannot get enough of it. It also has far more negative effects mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
This is not new—at least, it should not be. This has been an ongoing problem for decades. What is new, though, is that our national addiction to crystal meth and other illicit drugs is what might usher in a civil war with our neighbors to the south which is disturbingly similar to the foreign influence in Syria.
While Mexican cartel violence is not new either, the response to it in recent months definitely has been. People in the western state of Michoacan have had enough. Despite some of the strictest gun control laws in the world, farmers in the coastal state began amassing weapons that rival those of the military who are supposed to be protecting them from the cartels. While so-called “autodefensas”—essentially local militias—have been on the rise over the past year, they had not received much press.
That started to change once they started winning.
In fact, once they started winning, the government—which had largely left these groups alone, despite laws making them illegal—decided to step in and put an end to the vigilante justice.
That might have worked if they had not fired into a crowd of angry local farmers supporting the groups, killing two.
These groups have taken several key locations over the past week—parts that were once cartel strongholds. Seeing the effectiveness of the autodefensas, troops and the vigilantes are now steering clear of one another in the hopes of working toward the common goal of eliminating the cartel stranglehold on Michoacan.
“That is a bummer and all, but really, what is the big deal? Why should Americans care?”
Aside from our addictions to crystal meth, heroin, and other cartel staples, and that a full-blown civil war has huge implications for us here on this side of the border, there is another big reason.
Primarily, Southern California is the training ground for both sides of the battle. How do we know? They are telling us.
Recruits into the autodefensas specifically are coming from Hawthorne, Santa Ana, and other locations we are all too familiar with. And, according to them, there are many other individuals with similar backgrounds—they are not isolated cases.
In other words, what does this have to do with us? Well, not only is our drug addiction epidemic fueling this conflict, but also our streets are being used to train cartel and militia leaders alike, and they are recruiting from our neighborhoods.
Globalization brought the world together, which was overall a good thing, but it also brought negative consequences as well. There once might have been a time where we could close our eyes and feign ignorance, but that time has long since passed. We have—for a while now—needed to find answers to the addiction epidemic and help those who suffer from it.
Crystal Meth Trade
What are your thoughts on crystal meth addiction and its effects here in the States? Tell us in the comments!