Absurd? Just a tad. In fact, as anyone who has bothered to think about it for more than 3 seconds knows, alcohol is orders of magnitude more dangerous to individuals and society. So for all my civil libertarian impulses (I was the head of the Duke Conservative Union at the time, after all), I offered up this reply (which was published virtually verbatim to my surprise.)

I’ve slightly edited the article below from the original Chronicle print version to make more sense on this blog.

Pot Does Not Kill Mexican Kids

By: Cliff Satell

Last week, the Chronicle published a column which made an impassioned case against marijuana use. It pleaded for us to prevent “another dead Latin American child,” by looking within ourselves as a nation and ceasing our rampant and destructive drug use. The author of that column, and his argument, is wrong for the following reasons.

First, he claims smoking weed is unethical because big mean people who bring pot here are violent. But you can’t argue weed is inherently unethical because the current distribution system is unsavory; his point has nothing to do with the “ethics” of marijuana use. Individual use is a choice everyone has the right to make, especially in a country that pretends to allow the pursuit of happiness. As a strong conservative, I’m embarrassed by the hypocrisy of most conservatives when they advocate the government first decide, and then tell us, what is ethical and what isn’t. The government should never be in the business of legislating morality unless another person’s rights are directly threatened.

Which brings us to his main point: he claims ‘blazing’ weed does threaten the rights of poor Mexican kids because of the border violence in sneaking the plant into America. Let’s analyze. People – especially Mexican-Americans originally – smoke a lot of weed. Some weed is imported. Weed becomes illegal as a way to control a growing Mexican-American population. Weed producers are forced to operate in an underground and illegal world, becoming ‘cartels’. They don’t want to go to jail. They fear jail so much they do whatever necessary to stay out, leading to violence. Poor Mexican kids die; UCLA kids get high.

Since demand is literally infinite and will never disappear, the only logical conclusion is to bring the production and distribution of marijuana out from hiding and into the bright light of sanctioned government regulation. Once regulated there would be no need to violently conspire to sneak drugs over because producers would operate like any other legal distribution business. Not only would it add new sources of tax revenue in a time of fiscal crisis, but it would stop the Mexican kids from dying since violence is no longer required. You don’t see gangs of French warlords killing each other trying to sneak Cabernet into America. Why? Because wine isn’t relegated to the dirty world of black markets where lots of bad people kill other people. Closer to home, you don’t see Massachusetts, New Jersey or any of the other 12 states that have legalized marijuana collapsing from gang activity or cartel warfare.

Third, the author’s logic clearly is misinformed. Most of the weed on campus at Duke and especially in the Northeast does not even come from Mexico. A significant percentage is made right here in America’s living rooms and bedroom closets. Another hefty percentage comes from Canada, where border regulations are less restrictive.

Most marijuana in the US comes from California’s so-called Emerald Triangle, not Mexico.

And finally, the open secret now is that high-end pot comes from California’s humongous “Emerald Triangle” weed industry, a three-county region where marijuana makes up two-thirds of the economy (taxes anyone?). Progressive Californians legalized medicinal marijuana, creating a need for large scale farms to supply state-sanctioned distributaries. Medicinal weed, or “Cali bud” generally, is the bees knees that most consumers crave, not low-end Mexican schwag.

Finally, while we’re on ethics, let’s look at the reality. Alcohol kills roughly 100,000 per year (and is legal). Marijuana kills zero (and isn’t). Wait, you’re surprised? Mexican kids dies from bullets, not weed. Even Advil causes more deaths per year (7,000). Don’t cave to the government’s pathetic War on Drugs and its almost-laughable propaganda campaign that began as a racist way to keep out Mexicans from the Southwest in the 1930’s. Moreover, weed is a life-enhancer that gives peace, tranquility and yes, happiness to millions of hard-working productive Americans and Duke Students.

It’s awfully easy to point fingers at the big scary pot plant, ignoring that its legitimate medicinal and recreational use dates back thousands of years. But to say little Mexican babies are murdered every time a joint is rolled is beyond self-gratifying, it’s intellectual dishonesty at its worst. Get the facts and open your mind, then you’ll learn a really inconvenient truth.

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Duke Graduation 2011

So I really did not think that I would be graduating from Duke and on time. Go figure. It has been an insane four years, especially the last two.  But in May, I walked in Commencement exercises at Duke’s Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke 2011 Commencement ceremony
Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography

I can’t say I’ll miss you, Duke.  But I can say I’ve grown immensely and learned more than I thought possible, though most of that happened far outside the classroom.  The best aspects of Duke are, in order: the Gardens, the buildings and the faculty (at least the ones I had, with only one exception).  Living on Central Campus right next to the Gardens is like having my own personal Versailles in my backyard and makes for a pleasant walk to class, the gym or any other event on West Campus.

I am excited to be moving on to the next chapter of life after graduation, wherever that is.  I know for sure it won’t occur in Durham, NC. Or any other city south of the Mason-Dixon line.  Duke’s got a lot of issues to work out, not the least of which is the social makeup of campus life.  The alcohol-fueled frat culture, the institutional arrogance, the stubborn rigidity that permeates much of the administration all contribute to the experience of every Duke student.  While most can either work within that system and conform to survive, some are left behind and discarded by the system for daring to even toe the line, let alone take the risk of asking questions and living life in pursuit of one’s own happiness.

But that’s okay.  Even those negative aspects have made the Duke experience worth it because, at the very least, I know I have been able to confront and overcome many absurdities and challenges that will serve me well in the future.  I didn’t win any national championship, I didn’t earn any prestigious fellowships or thesis awards and I hardly won any popularity contests among the student body during my time at Duke. But who wants to peak at age 20, 21 or 22? I would consider myself a failure and arrest myself if I look back from my death-bed and reminisce about the “best four years of my life” being these youthful years.  This should be the utmost beginning – far from a culmination – of great times.  I’m looking forward, not backward.  No matter what I am called in the future, no matter what slander is thrown at me, no matter what institutional barriers I face in whatever career I find myself in I will know for certain that I have the strength and the ability to deal with it. No question in my mind.  That’s the beauty of early hardships.

Cause if you aren’t suffering in your teens, you will never be able to celebrate in your 70′s.  The most successful people in our society are those that suffered in some way, shape or form early in their lives. Of course, “suffering” is the epitome of a relative term. One man’s suffering is another man’s challenge or opportunity.  I did not grow up in poverty like some of my peers and some of my idols in life. But there are other forms of pain and other forms of challenges, to be sure.  I look forward with nothing but pure anticipation to the next chapters of life.  I hope they are hard.  I have no idea how hard, but I do know I will have faced far worse before.  And I will know I can beat it.  Those who know nothing but success and fun in life cannot say the same.

And, in the end, that is the value of my Duke education.  That will be the lesson I take with me, not the endless tomes of political philosophy or legislative strategies that I have had the “pleasure” of reading.  Not the names, dates or events that I’ve studied in detail or been forced to compare and contrast.  Those are fleeting.  Those are merely tools and should not be regarded as ends. I came to college to learn first and foremost about myself: what my limits were, what I was capable of and what could stop me.  And I discovered more than I ever bargained for by putting myself out there and choosing to grow.  That is what I charged myself to do and I am proud to say I exceeded the toughest expectations: my own.

So I’m glad I could take part in Duke’s graduation ceremony.  I can’t say it was particularly fun or memorable, but graduation meant moving on from Duke and all that it entailed.  Graduation meant a certain liberty, though not without a valuable scarring.  But above all, graduation meant I had earned a Duke degree and nobody can take that away.

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+Cliff Satell

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Duke 2011 Commencement ceremony
Jon Gardiner/Duke Photography

So, Bin Laden’s gone, Cliff Lee threw a career high 16 K’s, the Flyers were swept embarrassingly and I haven’t heard a peep out of Charlie Sheen or Donald Trump.  All in all a decent week.  Next week should be swell as well, lots to do, people to meet and then a final Duke ceremony at the end.  Soon enough.

But I’m looking forward most to being able to use the past tense when I say I live in Durham, NC.  No matter where I head, I’ll be encountering greener pastures, or at least pastures of any color.  Other than the Gardens at Duke, Durham isn’t exactly very… all-natural.
Anyway, only negative is that now I can never be on this list of the 10 richest people who never finished college.  (Gates, Jobs are the top two… Zuckerberg, Tom Hanks, James Cameron and Harrison Ford on there too.)

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