EL PASO -- City Rep. Beto O'Rourke on Friday defended his stance for legalizing marijuana as a way to combat drug violence in Juarez, and said thousands of Mexican nationals are escaping to El Paso. He made the comments during a live online chat with readers of elpasotimes.com. "The estimate from our chief of police, Greg Allen, is that in the last two years over 30,000 Mexican nationals have moved to El Paso to flee the violence in Juarez," O'Rourke said in response to a question. "There is obviously going to be pressure and discomfort involved, as well as some immediate economic and cultural enrichment in El Paso." [continues 481 words]
Tommy Chong Gets A Raw Deal In Court For Selling Bongs It came as no surprise when I heard that Tommy Chong was in drug related legal trouble. For those of you who don't know, Tommy Chong was half of the dope-smoking duo in the Cheech and Chong movies. He was arrested and sentenced to nine months in prison for conspiring to sell drug paraphernalia through the mail. On the surface, it appears he got what was coming to him, but in reality he's getting busted for selling glass on the internet. Now we all know what those bongs are going to be used for, but let's not go nuts. As a result of this, Chong has lost his recurring role on the Fox sitcom "That '70s Show" and a planned reunion movie with Cheech Marin. [continues 312 words]
Adrian Marquez will not appear in one scene when NBC takes a whack at the family crime drama genre Sunday with the introduction of its miniseries "Kingpin." Marquez's name will not be included when the credits scroll down at the conclusion of the six-episode series about the struggles of a Mexican family trying to control a drug cartel. But the sophomore at the University of Texas at El Paso was part of the series. And he has the sunburns to prove it. [continues 730 words]
