Controversial War on Drugs hangout with Mexican narco baron Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman Loera airing on YouTube on March 13

9to5 Staff | Mar 1 2012 - 12:34 pm PT

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui1SzY6OZDk]

I am a huge fan of National Geographic’s documentaries on the narcotics industry, especially shows like “Drugs, Inc.” and “Banged Up Abroad.” To be perfectly clear, I am enjoying them for educational purposes only. Now, touching on this age-defining question, Versus from Intelligence²teamed with Google to bring a debate on the drugs industry to its users.

It is chaired by BBC newsreader and presenter Emily Maitlis and will also feature WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, British tycoon Richard Branson, English entertainer Russell Brand, the former presidents from Mexico and Brazil, and others.

It is the first in a series of global debates in co-operation with Versus that will occur through Google+ Hangouts and stream on YouTube. A post over at the official Google blog said the first motion up for debate is: “It’s time to end the War on Drugs.” You can join the hangout on Google+ here.

In addition to the aforementioned guests, the show will feature Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, one of the drug barons and reported head of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. Forbes ranked Loera No. 701 on its annual list of the richest men alive due to an estimated net worth of $1 billion. Here is an eyebrow-raising quote from Loera on his drug empire (per Huffington Post):

I couldn’t have gotten so stinking rich without George Bush, George Bush Jr., Ronald Reagan, even El Presidente Obama. None of them have the cojones to stand up to all the big money that wants to keep this stuff illegal. From the bottom of my heart, I want to say, Gracias amigos, I owe my whole empire to you.