I expect the proposal in Uruguay to pass and more nations standing up against the U.S.-imposed War on Drugs. Latin American presidents have increasingly been speaking up on the subject as the drug cartels have turned many of their countries into active war zones. In September, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina suggested legalizing drugs at the United Nations. The presidents of Mexico and Colombia supported him. Again, I expect more of the same in the coming year.

In Michigan, we await the state Supreme Court decision on whether medical marijuana dispensaries are legal or not. I have little insight as to which direction the justices will go other than they took the case of a Mount Pleasant dispensary that the state Court of Appeals had ruled against. In the short term, the case will decide what the medical marijuana industry looks like in Michigan. Also, marijuana activists, enthused by five victories in five campaigns in November, will press various decriminalization initiatives in some larger cites with elections in fall 2013. There may well be one near you. 

So even though law enforcement continues to terrorize citizens in the drug war, it's possible that we are entering the end game in this tragic farce. A recent Angus Reid Public Opinion poll found that 66 percent of Americans expect that possession and use of marijuana by adults will be legal within a decade, although only 54 percent said they personally believed that it should be. Even those who oppose it see the handwriting on the wall. In 2013, I expect to see some big strides toward that end.

A former inmate interviewed in the film Breaking the Taboo described how pretty much any drug was available while he was in prison. His assessment was, "If you can't control drug use in a maximum security prison, how can you control drug use in a free society?"

It can't be said any better than that.

Larry Gabriel is a writer, musician and former editor of Metro Times. Send comments to letters@metrotimes.com.

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