The time has come for the entire world, secular and non-secular to band together to fight the scourge that plagues our society – drug addiction.

In an effort to rid the planet from drugs one of the most notable religious figures is actively joining the fight. Pope Benedict is taking the fight right to one of the main arteries of the problem - Mexico

Pope Benedict arrived in Mexico last week promising as reported in Reuters to "unmask the evil" of drug trafficking in a country ravaged by gang violence that has killed 50,000 people in the past five years.

The Pope made strong accusations about Mexico’s serious problem with the drug cartels and how they are losing the fight in the drug war!

The 84-year-old Pope’s words could not have been stronger when he said, "We must do whatever is possible to combat this destructive evil against humanity and our youth.”

The Pope's strong words on the drug menace should offer comfort to Mexican President Felipe Calderon, who has staked his reputation on beating down the cartels. Calderon hailed Benedict's arrival, saying it was of great significance at a time of "many hardships" for Mexico.

If somehow Mexico’s drug cartels can be beaten down a serious dent in the world drug problem might cease to exist. Hopefully faith can bring us together and help wipe out drugs. And a little education through a 15 hour drug class probable can't hurt either. The people are the power.

In the war on drugs our canine friends are suiting up for battle. Drug and bomb sniffing dogs have been around for a long time, but recently their powerful noses have been creating some powerful questions.

One question that has recently arisen is does a dog’s nose constitute probable cause to search or enter. In other words, if a dog smells marijuana is that grounds to enter a locked, private residence. In Florida it has fallen to the states Supreme Court to decide.

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether police may use a drug-sniffing dog at the front door of a house or an apartment to detect marijuana, even if the officers have no evidence of criminal conduct.

This is just the latest test of the 4th Amendment's protection against "unreasonable searches" in drug cases says the LA Times.

In the past, the court has upheld the use of dogs to sniff luggage at airports and to sniff around cars that were stopped along the highway. The justices said that using trained dogs in public areas didn't violate anyone's right to privacy.

Also in the past, the Supreme Court was unwilling to permit "dog sniff tests … at the home of any citizen" unless the police had probable cause of criminal wrongdoing.

As marijuana use continues to skyrocket it will be interesting to see if courts start to move toward allowing the searches.

Of course the title to this article is naïve. The corrupt Mexican police force that is on the take from drug cartels needs a lot more than an online drug class to curb cartel power and violence.

Raids

Mexican President Felipe Calderon's office did not respond for requests for comments on the CNDH findings, but it says his strategy is showing results with the capture of major gang leaders and a drop in homicides in violent cities like Ciudad Juarez, where murders fell to 1,550 so far this year from 3,622 killings in 2010.

Still, the overall number of drug-related murders is still rising and improved security in some places has not cured a deep mistrust of the police.

Forty-six percent of Mexicans surveyed said they have little or no confidence in federal police and local police fared even worse at 60% in a survey last month on security perceptions by the national statistics agency.

Denting public support is a big jump in unauthorized raids by security forces, which have more than tripled from 2005, including one on the home of a well-known, elderly poet in August.

Even more raids go unreported. Do you know why?

In one case last month, a convoy of two dozen federal police burst into the home of "Amelia" in a lower middle class neighborhood in Mexico City in search of her nephew, who has suspected links to organized crime.

Guided by two bound suspects in the back of their trucks, and no search warrant, federal agents entered her family's small compound hunting for the 21-year-old, forcing her husband and son to kneel at gunpoint.

"They had (my nephew's) wife on the ground splayed out like Christ pointing a machine gun at her head ... His brother was sleeping with his baby and they dragged him out, hitting him with their pistols on his head and back," said Amelia.

When it was all over, the law enforcers left with no arrests but not empty-handed - nearly $450, an iPad, a leather jacket and several cell phones were missing, she said.

Nice, the police are both corrupt (on the cartel payroll) and thieves! Perhaps a good online drug class or online stop theft class might start the ball rolling in the right direction. I appreciate your thoughts on curbing police corruption and cartel power.

Are our borders safe from the violence of Mexican drug cartels?  I sure hope so, because the war on drugs may be crossing our borders.

The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a warning to state residents that didn't sound at all alarming; it just mentioned that "the Mexican Cartels are Recruiting Texas High School Students."

What the Heck Does That Mean?

Seriously, the cartels are recruiting American teenagers and we should not be too alarmed?

Mexican Cartels have corrupted nearly an entire generation of youth living in Northern Mexico and they seek to corrupt our youth as well to further their smuggling operations. The Mexican Cartels value Texas teenagers for their ability to serve as expendable labor in many different roles and they have unlimited resources to recruit our children.

The problem is especially acute, of course, on the border.

In one Texas border county, more than 25 juveniles have been arrested for drug trafficking within the past year. Last month, two Texas teenagers were lured to Mexico where they were kidnapped, beaten, ransomed and released in a remote area along the Rio Grande River. Last week, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) apprehended a 12-year-old boy in a border county driving a stolen pickup truck containing more than 800 pounds of marijuana.

Yes, you read that correctly – 12-year-old – driving – stolen pickup – 800 pounds of weed!!!

DPS did have some advice: Parents should talk to their children and explain how the Cartels seek to exploit Texas teenagers and the risks in dealing with these ruthless organizations, especially those parents who live along the Texas/Mexico border.

This is serious business that extends far beyond the concerns of terrified Texas parents.  While I do not doubt the firepower and ruthlessness of these Mexican cartels, my guess is they may be biting off more than they can handle if the US decides to use its military might to go after them!