As a young man, before I joined the cartel, I looked at gangsters as the ultimate man. They had power, people feared them, lived a luxurious life, and it seemed that they had all the women. As an up and coming young executive with the Federal Reserve Bank, with immense potential, I also was fascinated by these people, and deep down inside I wanted to be like them, without the criminal element. So, I found myself rooting for the bad guy even though I knew they were horrible human beings that had caused a lot of pain to many people.

How many seconds does it take to give your life away? That’s the time I went from being a multi-millionaire to not being able to buy a chocolate bar. I gave away everything. It was devastating. It was the first time in my life that I had ever given something unconditionally. My inner transformation was making this possible. The silver lining was that statutes of limitations had run on everyone I knew, and I did not have to testify on anyone. Besides, Dickie Lynn, my importer had been found guilty and given a life sentence. All they wanted was my assets, I guess the government could not stand that I had retired a millionaire with all that drug money. 

The impact of layoffs goes ­beyond suicide, drug overdosing, and drinking, however. Overall, the death rate for an unemployed person is 63 percent higher than for someone with a job, according to findings in the journal Social Science & Medicine. Now do the math: Layoff-related deaths could far outnumber the 60,400 coronavirus deaths predicted by the University of Washington researchers. This comparison isn't meant to understate the horror of the coronavirus for those who get it and their families." But heavy-handed state edicts to close all "nonessential businesses" need to be reassessed in light of the predictable harm to the lives, livelihoods, and health of the uninfected."

La historia nos dice que la "Guerra contra las Drogas" no ha sido más que un horrible fracaso. Hemos gastado miles de millones de dólares sin nada que mostrar. Las drogas son más baratas. Nuevas drogas llegan al mercado, y más de 70,000 estadounidenses mueren cada año debido a una sobredosis de drogas. Uno se pregunta si el gobierno quiere ganar esta guerra? 

En agosto de 2019, decidí dedicar el resto de mi vida a cumplir mi sueño de hacer del mundo un lugar mejor para mis hijos, nietos y todos. Algunas personas me escucharon decir eso y se rieron; después de todo, ¿cómo puede una sola persona hacer la diferencia en un mundo tan dividido y complicado, lleno de odio y desesperación?