Do you think that California's marijuana legalization will quell violence along the U.S.-Mexico border?

It has to be nationwide!

I agree with the study, legalization only in Cali would do little to combat violence on the border when the rest of the country still has to get it illegally. If only 3% of sales of Mexican pot are in Cali, it stands to reason that the remaining 97% is still going to come with a lot of violence. Honestly, even if it was legalized in all 50 states, there would still be a significant illegal drug trade and here's why: do you really think that mexican drug cartels are going to suddenly start paying taxes, import duties, and following regulations like tobacco growers do? Not a chance! They'll still be running drugs in illegally over the border because it'll mean they can sell it for cheaper, and that'll STILL mean violence. The only solution would be to completely seal the border AND provide a way for people in the US to obtain it. That would eliminate the demand for weed from over the border AND make it tough for cartels to run the border and try to compete on price. It'd be lack of demand plus lack of profit. That's the only thing that can stop this.

More peace less War!

The US government won't recognize the laws that CA passes anyways, so it won't do much...

I think it might decrease violence but it will increase the amount of kids using it and getting it from their parents because it's literally growing in their back yard.
If we legalize it, we may make some extra bucks taxing it. $$$

What's weird about all this mess is that these substances once used to be legal. And I believe they've always been legal in the clinical setting.

I think it will most definitely quell the violence, because we went through the same thing in the early 20th century with the outlawing of liquor. At that time the Bonnie and Clyde and Al Capone types took over the underground distribution of it. Moonshining and ridiculous violence ensued. When it was legalized again, much of that nonsense stopped.

Legalization of marijuana in California will quell some of it, but it won't get rid of all the violence, cause there will still be meth and cocaine and crack cocaine to deal with and I don't think they'll ever legalize that stuff, because legal or not, no one likes overindulgence when it comes to those substances except for the person doing it.

Once Cali pulls out billions on the table then the rest of the country will jump on board that is how the violence will stop!

how bout a fence and some friggin guns on the border...bet that would stop them.....

When it becomes legal in Cali, and they finally are lifted out of their enormous debt and start prospering again (a word America has forgotten how to use except in a Jeff Foxworthy bit), and the rest of the country goes, "Oh, well, shit, I want some of that too!" and they legalize it, and Americans ALL OVER THE COUNTRY can get their pot locally, then yes, the violence WILL be quelled. Incidentally, all that locally-grown and sold pot will be locally grown and sold by locals, which will obviously boost economies everywhere in every way, and five years later mysterious cancers and psychoses and dementias will start declining due to people not putting little poison pills in their bodies every 4 to 6 hours, and these people will start eating real food again because they can feel what is actually happening inside their organs and their brains (yes I know the brain is an organ). Ahem...........Yes on 19. A butterfly flaps its wings.

I think it will cut their budget no more weapons purchases which means less violence. Grow your own!

Will it have an impact on Mexico?
Not really.

The effect of herbal complacency on California will be interesting to watch though.
I used to smoke with regularity then stopped as I got sober.
I returned to S.F. 7 years later and the picture I returned to was a life that time forgot. The people I had left behind were exactly the same, working the same jobs, living in the same fantasies and going nowhere.

Their lives now are in shambles because they did not progress they simply did nothing.

No, but maybe the 20 year old Police Chief in Guadalupe will get some work done and inspire the rest of the country.

Just kidding, Mexico is a shit hole and nothing that we do in the United States is going to change that. Why is the United States always the focal point when problems with Mexico are discussed? They are fucked up, they need to deal with it. Fuck Mexico.

I think marijuana prohibition is an insanely self-defeating policy, so I do support the measure in California to end it. However, the effect it may have on Mexican drug cartels in the short term is hard to predict. It will ultimately mean decreased revenue and influence, but there will be a struggle before they surrender their primary income.

Given that so much of their revenue stream comes from marijuana sales in the US alone, it is likely that we'll start seeing front groups set up to funnel the legal profits back to them. They have a distinct lead in the market already, with boots on the ground and connections to sellers and their clients, so this would be the next logical step for them. If that proves largely unsuccessful in the saturated cannabis market of California, which I think it quickly will once legal capacity rises to meet demand, they likely will mobilize their gangs to step up the production and trade of other illegal goods to make up for the loss in the marijuana sector.

What happens in this downsizing/restructuring will be interesting and chaotic. I suspect a small increase in desperation, violence, and unemployment in the black market as new faces try to rise to the top, and old ones lose credibility and control. Growers will gain a great deal of money initially from the new consumers and advertising legalization provides (which should help them transition from organized crime), but as the full market becomes competitive, the price bubble will quickly burst, leaving many with nothing. This could lead to an effort by the cartels to fund those who lose out in order to keep in the market, but even this measure only delays their inevitable decline. Many dealers will lose their livelihood, and those that stay will have to cope with the growing corporate consolidation of their industry. Or better yet, fight to make it local and responsible instead of corporate.

Some gangs will find it hard to keep afloat without resorting to other means for income. Guns are their currency with the Mexican bosses in exchange for marijuana, so expect a surplus of American guns cutting their price on the street. This could, hypothetically, fuel a small-scale arms race to make up for the lack of income, as gangs are prone to rash action in the face of changing conditions.

This happened after alcohol prohibition ended, and when newer drugs like crack cocaine made it to the markets in the 1980's, with upstart groups fighting violently for control. This turbulent transition should pass quickly for California for two important reasons: the cartels are only losing one state for revenue, and they are too financially strained in an expensive war in Mexico to exert much influence. But don't be surprised in the future when you read of how the cartels fought to keep other states from following California's lead. They will fight as long as they can, and so must we.

it is alwayse darkest before dawn i think we should all buy a gun and start smoking weed protect yourself and get high

It will be very difficult to collect taxes on Marijuana sales. By declaring that you bought or sold Marijuana you are being forced to admit to violating Federal Law, and states have run afoul of this issue before. The state can not make a person declare they are in violation of Federal Law. It all depends on how Obama decides to handle this with his instructions to the DEA.

No but it's a start

If the whole US would legalize it, the cartels would be out of business. I think the 20% mark is a bit low. Other reports have estimated the cartels heavily rely on income from cannabis, making up as much as 60 - 80% of their profits.

California will no doubt experience greater demand from the other 49 states. The demand is already evident in Mendocino county where growers have quickly multiplied over the last decade or so. Being the only state with legalization will only make it worse. All states should legalize so that the domestic distribution can be done legally and in a far more balanced manner.

My question is, if California passes this law, shouldn't the government be FORCED to re-evaluate and re-classify cannabis under the guidelines of the controlled substances act? It clearly states that a substance is to be evaluated on current studies and available information. Apparently 15 states with legal medicinal laws isn't enough to get them to move.... will Prop 19 be the final straw?

Why would it?

Might not stop border violence - but it will probably stop domestic home invasions/violence related to cannabis because of the effect it will have on the local black market. At least I hope it does.

I think the cartels on the border will probably switch crops or start funneling it to other regions.

not in the slightest, as a regulated market is still a market none the less.we all at some point have had a knock off something.adidass pants with the four stripes, or the fooboo shirt.
they will continue to grow, and distribute it regardless of what we do.it could actualy turn them into a corperate empire actualy, just one with baord room walls covered in spattered blood.remember pablo escobar was a congressman.

does it even matter really, being that cocaine is thier bigger investment not weed?

can it make the violence worse?

a poll is only going to give what peoples opinion of the matter is. its not going to actually predict the future in certain cases.

it is obvious that one state alone commiting this act is not going to stop an orginization that operates on a global scale. however, history has shown that when california does something "drastic" some states follow suit, and this would create a domino effect.

also crime rates trippling is something someone pulled out their ass, cuz it sure smells like shit. if anything crime would lower. with cannabis readily available in a safer environment to law abiding citizens, drug deals would decline therefore revenue for crime activity would take a hit... which would result in lower crime rates... one way cartels would be effected..

another thing effecting crime would be the fact that police would actually be able to catch criminals instead of otherwise hard working, tax paying americans.

what i dont understand is why peole want the drug cartels to keep their cash cow in anyway shape or form. does it really matter if it would only effect the cartels a little? its better than the no where we are getting from the nothing we are doing.

legalize cannabis.....

you guys are simply not getting it...LOL..then either the Mexican cartel moves in stateside or we replace the Mexican cartel with California Cartel..

legalization would TRIPLE the violence as the forces starts to shift..but then again when shit hits the fan..these dope heads always blame either the martians or jesus christ..

just think of it this way..we are listening to a bunch of people who needs to BE DOPED UP to function...

To the OP no it wont make a difference, but think of it like this if Alc was illegal again and lets say MJ would be equal beer and hard liquor would equal cocaine,
for a portion of ppl it would be fine, they could now drink beer legally and that would take profit out of mafia/cartels. But because Hard Liquor would still be illegal there would still be market and therefore a way for mafia/Cartels to make easy money on it.

(sorry just woke up not sure if that makes sense lol)

Legalization of alcohol did not stop the Mafia,
so legalization of pot will not stop the cartels.

They will just shift to a new crop.

a poll doesn't prove anything other than the prevailing opinion, if that. voted down.

Most of the marijuana smoked in the US is homegrown anyway. I am Pro Marijuana legalization, but the reason is not to stop the border violence.

This issue is much deeper than legalizing a single substance. The problem is with the Mexican governments culture of corruption. They fall prey to bribes from the cartels to easily. Alot of the Government leaders are in the cartels themselves!

The goal of the mexican drug war is not to stop all drug trafficking. The goal is to give advantage to one cartel over the other.

For instance: The military will give the sinaloa cartel free roam in order to take out a rival cartel like the Zetas, a more violent and brutal gang. The result is massive civilian casualties and no less violence than you had before.

This is not sustainable, you cannot fight a drug war half-a**ed or take sides for that matter.

The Mexican government needs to be held accountable for their criminal negligence and stripped of all drug war related funding

No

It will have an impact...but the cartels are going into a different line of work now...coming across the border, kidnapping Americans, and then holding them for ransom in Mexico...forget marijuana...its small potatoes compared to the new more lucrative trade.

Legalization of marijuana, a vestigial issue in the so-called American culture wars, will (a) save money as fewer nonviolent "offenders" are incarcerated, (b) generate revenue as a new legal taxable good is legitimately introduced into the state economy, and (c) contribute to reducing violence along the border as American demand for Mexican marijuana is significantly reduced. People go to jail for marijuana possession but cigarettes are still legal? That makes a lot of sense.

it can't get any worse; apparently, logic is not a driving force for ANY of our 'representatives' so it is not likely....

Criminals will always find something illegal to do. If marijuana is legalized, others will spring up to fill in some other illegal activity.

The point is not that they want to make money of off marijuana, the point is that they want to make money the easy way, the illegal way. If that means selling marijuana then so be it, but as soon as that is no longer illegal, they will move to something else.

Criminal cartels always deal beyond the bounds of legality. And for as long as there are things that are illegal (which there will always be) there will always be crime cartels that live off of it.

I don't think that it could hurt any. We already have a small border war going on so what the hell.

no maan!..

No, I don't think so. There might be an issue if all of the US made it legal and therefor we took a lot of their business, but I really doubt it. There are scarier things to be afraid of than "Crazy Mexican Cartels seeking revenge because mary j is finally legal". There will always be violence everywhere human beings and money are together. And that is regardless of skin color. DOWNED

Of course it won't, this is a dumb question to ask. California is one state out of fifty. If the country were to legalize marijuana then it would have an affect on the cartels and the violence they create. Legalization in California will just be step one of a fifty step process.