The Desperate Druggie
Case Number 4
MacFarland is off to Mexico!
MacFarland is old school when it comes to legalized marijuana. But when it comes to the daughter of the owner of legalized pot stores getting kidnapped, he is ready to run off to Mexico to rescue her.
Unfortunately, rescuing the young woman does not prove to be easy. First, someone has followed him to Mexico and is trying to kill him. Second, he has to confront one of the most powerful cartel leaders in Mexico. And third, he has to deal with Calida Delgado, a beautiful and fiercely independent woman he once had an affair with.
Will MacFarland be able to rescue the pot dealer’s daughter or will he fall victim to one or more of the three obstacles he encounters in sunny Mexico?
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Author's Notes
When pot was legalized in Colorado, I wondered how MacFarland would respond to that. It was quite obvious to me that MacFarland would be somewhat antagonistic to legal marijuana. On the other hand, I wouldn’t have been surprised to find him using it once in a while, at least before he sobered up. Once he gave up drinking, he would try to give up all apparent vices. Except coffee, of course.
My first plan was to have the Desperate Druggie focus on the money problems associated with the pot trade in Colorado. While it is legal to sell and possess pot in Colorado, it is still illegal as far as the Federal government is concerned. This makes it challenging to handle the economic proceeds of the pot business. After all, what bank wants to risk breaking the law and dealing with monies involved in a trade that is nationally prohibited?
To solve that problem, I had my Pot Baron, Jack Mason, set up his own bank, except it wouldn’t be part of the national banking system. While I am pretty sure this won’t happen, when you control the pen (keyboard?), you can make anything happen.
Now, on to the Mexican connection to the Desperate Druggie.
Over my career, I’ve spent a lot of time in Mexico City, and even in Cuernavaca, a beautiful region south of the capital. I was so enamored with the locale that I knew I eventually would incorporate it into one of my Hot Dog Detective stories. Mexico is one of the most fun countries in the world. Well, parts of it. Avoid the areas where the cartels rule the countryside, and you will find yourself in one of the friendliest, most colorful, and enjoyable places there is.
But how do I tie that into a story that takes place largely in Colorado?
Then it occurred to me. How would legalized marijuana affect the Mexican drug trade? Would it reduce the demand for foreign drugs? What would the cartels do in response to legalized pot?
Once I decided that I would focus on the effect of Colorado’s pot trade on the Mexican cartels, everything in this story clicked together for me. Pot and Mexico! How can you do any better?
The outline of the story began to take shape in my mind.
A young woman, the daughter of a legalized pot baron, is kidnapped by one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico, ostensibly to put pressure on the pot dealer to cooperate with the cartel. MacFarland is asked by the addle-brained uncle of the girl to go to Mexico to rescue her. Since MacFarland is opposed to legal marijuana—he is Old School, after all—he is torn between helping the young pot head or telling him to suffer the consequences of trading in drugs.
Of course MacFarland is not the kind of guy to turn his head on anyone in danger. So he goes to Mexico, fully intent on rescuing the young woman.
And then finally, to make sure that nothing goes right, MacFarland finds that he has to contact a girlfriend from his past and get her help to confront one of the most powerful cartels in Mexico.