Drugs and the plants they are derived from, have been around for centuries. While there is no question drug abuse is a serious problem, drug criminalization is failed policy that has devastated society far more severely than the disease itself. Like alcohol prohibition before it, drug prohibition has only accomplished one thing, creating a black market, responsible for over 40,000 murders of Mexicans over the past 6 years alone.

Like many Americans, I’ve followed the debate on health care reform over the past year. With every plea for its passage, came another moving story of a fellow citizen’s suffering. At every turn, with every speech, the case for reform was made. I listened, learned, and became convinced of its necessity. Now that H.R. 3590 has been signed into law, it’s important to ask how the actual legislation will impact our lives.

Now that it's spring time, the hills up here are green, the sky is blue, and so I decided to put the top down on the TT and take a few drives around the countrysides.

Las Vegas was a lot of fun. I was invited to join a friend of mine for a photography convention being held there. It was a great time just getting away from the office and taking some time off to have fun and relax. I learned a lot from other photographers there and attended several classes.

I arrived in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa yesterday. It is a short drive from here to the Bloukrans bridge, home of the Guinness Book World's Highest Bungee Jump.

It's about 5:30 am here in California, and somehow I managed to get some sleep last night. On my way to catch a flight to Africa!