Affordable Health Care America Act Signed Today

Doug Mills/The New York Times

"We have just now enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care," President Obama declared.

A big day in Washington D.C. and a monumental day for the nation, as we move forward towards affordable health care and the removal of pre-existing conditions which, for years, has kept millions of people uninsured. Today, Obama, armed with pen, signed his health care overhaul; this bill is, perhaps, the biggest act of social legislation in decades. Obama used twenty pens in the signing of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, which he planned to pass out as tokens to key lawmakers. The Affordable Health Care Act has been a dream for many politicians for 40 years, starting with the late Senator Ted Kennedy in 1970 when he introduced the idea to provide national health insurance. In the audience, Representative Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island (perhaps one of the most important players in the quest for this health bill), held his father's original bill from 1970 which he gifted to Obama with a personal message inside.

Passed by the House on Sunday night by a vote of 219-212, the bill will provide coverage to the estimated 30 million people who do not have it, as well as:

• require most Americans to have health insurance coverage
• add 16 million people to the Medicaid rolls
• would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people
• cost the government about $938 billion over 10 years
• estimated that the bill would reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over a decade

The battle is far from over and there will be many who are not happy about the signing of this bill. There are always two sides to every argument and there will be a lot more said about this subject before any recognizable changes can be seen within our health care system. No longer will Americans be disenfranchised regarding their health care. In the recovery community countless people will be able to get health insurance for the first time. This bill will have lasting effects perhaps unlike anything seen since the 30's regarding social legislation. We will be following this story.

"Our presence here today is remarkable, and improbable: with all the punditry, all of the lobbying, all of the game-playing that passes for governing in Washington, it's been easy at times to doubt our ability to do such a big thing, such a complicated thing; to wonder if there are limits to what we as a people can still achieve." -President Obama-

Los Angeles City Council Voted Tuesday To Close Roughly 800 Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

Los Angeles has been at the forefront of the medical marijuana movement, with more dispensaries in one area than any other city or even state. People have become outraged by the plethora of dispensaries that have over taken their neighborhoods, popping up not far from where children are playing. California has been associated with having the most relaxed laws and being the easiest state to acquire a medical marijuana card - one only need say they require it and Voilà! The so-called "wild west" days of medical marijuana may be coming to an end here real shortly, the Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to close roughly 800 medical marijuana dispensaries throughout the city by passing the first reading of an ordinance which would force 75% of remaining dispensaries to relocate. There will be another vote on Tuesday because this week's vote was 11-3, which fell short of the 12-0 result that an ordinance needs to pass on the first reading.

"The ordinance sets new rules for dispensaries that council members hope will curtail the anything-goes environment that made Los Angeles the vivid epicenter of the money-fueled Green Rush that erupted when the Obama administration announced last year that it would no longer prosecute dispensaries adhering to California's medical marijuana laws", according to the LA Times. Not only will there be fewer dispensaries in LA, but, there will be much stricter laws regarding medical marijuana all together. The new law will put a stop to the late-night pot club scene and will require the dispensaries to close their doors at 8pm. No more smoking or consuming marijuana based products inside the dispensaries. On top of the new rules, dispensary owners will have to keep extensive records on their operations and are not allowed to make a profit; special police units will be put into place to force compliance.

The ordinance will limit the number of dispensaries to only 70. Exceptions will be made but there will surely be many dispensary owners who will try and fight back for their investment. Any dispensary registered under the moratorium and is still in business will be allowed to keep their doors open. It will be interesting to see the battle that ensues in the coming weeks regarding LA's dispensaries, after all, so goes Los Angeles so goes the nation with this debate - or so it seems.

Mexico's Drug War is Worsening

The Mexican government is sending out 45,000 troop to conflict areas throughout the country, more troops than the United States has in Afghanistan, as a result of the 11,000 dead in just under three years. Mexico's drug war is worsening and it does not seem like much can be done to curb the cartels and their bloody war over smuggling routes and government control according to the San Francisco Chronicle, "attacking offices, killing investigators, and threatening citizens who speak out".

The hot spots where most of, but not all, the action is taking place are in border cities where the drugs come one way and American guns and money go back the other way. In the U.S. guns are sold to private citizens that are often more high-powered than most government officials have throughout Mexico. Again, according to the San Francisco Chronicle: "This month, Mexican President Felipe Calderon ordered more soldiers into Ciudad Juarez, a major border town and drug entry point opposite El Paso, to quell the violence. Closer to Mexico City, he faces trouble from an upstart gang in his native state of Michoacan, where the bodies of 12 federal agents were dumped on a back road, all of them tortured and shot in the head. In response, he sent 5,500 troops to the region".

The cartels are certainly a major factor in this war, but, Americas never ending thirst for drugs is the driving force. This is a war over money, and not just any money - American money. The cartels in Mexico control all the drugs coming out of South and Central-America and it appears that Mexico has become the new Columbia. Back in March, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated our nation's responsibility. The violence is caused by "our insatiable demand for illegal drugs."

Next month, President Obama is due at a North American summit in Guadalajara, Mexico. Obama needs to make this war one of his top priorities otherwise it will only get worse. Better attempts at drug education here in America need to take place because as long as we demand the drugs Mexico will continue to fight to supply them. Furthermore, better gun policies need to be enacted; Mexicans killing with our guns makes us partly liable. Mexican drugs are the gasoline that fuel America's engine of addiction.