Drug legalization is an "entirely legitimate topic for debate," President Barack Obama said Thursday during his online YouTube town hall, in response to a question from a former deputy sheriff who has turned sour on the drug war.

In endorsing such a debate, Obama went further than any president has since the start of the war on drugs, which can be traced back at least to President Richard Nixon, but more realistically to the early 20th century, when the federal government began criminalizing drugs that had long been legal.

huffingtonpost.com
whyprohibition.ca

Smugglers using a catapult to launch marijuana cross the Mexican/U.S. border were seen on a remote video surveillance system last Friday, and National Guard troops coordinated with Mexican authorities to disrupt the operation -- although nobody was caught.

National Guard troops running a remote video surveillance system at the Naco Border Patrol Station saw several people south of the International Boundary Fence preparing a catapult and launching packages over the fence, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, reports KVOA.com.

Border Patrol agents working with the National Guard contacted Mexican authorities, who hurried to the location and disrupted the catapult team. The camera showed the catapult operators running away before they could be arrested by Mexican law enforcement.

kvoa.com
nydailynews.com
tucsonsentinel.com