'LULAC,' Huge Latino Group, Endorses Prop. 19, California's Marijuana Legalization Initiative

• Orale Vato como la vien, are we to work together or cry over the past, this is not a race issue as when it comes to have Medical Marihuana Legal. An as for the comment on putting our people to work the have always work, well my people have I do not know of the person who made that comment? Then as for me I am not hear to call anyone stupid but come on really do not point the finger at yourself to get your face on the spotlight. Look Lady all of our people have been caught in the crossfire. I am a true Mexican American as my friend Cheech would say an remember all this started for greed not for the best for the people an the planet. La Raza says enough is enough an when we get pass this dam problem then we will can live more peaceful. The concern on the business popping up every were get ready and get used to it we cannot stop progress. Lets remember this goes back to Economics 101 being supply and demand simple no demand because we will supply or own. Then as for the Heroin and cocaine an meth check your sources were its coming from find some one new to blame besides your brown brothers and sisters who might take care of you an family. Gangs well how many nonmember gangs sell get real! Sorry about the delay, but then again never to late to voice or mind. Mexican American thats me an Fumo porque puedo y porque mi da la gan!

• Please send me a message I am starting Medical Maihuana Latinos Del Mundo an invite all Latinos to unite with me an my group in this cause.

• My name is Ronald Davis and on March 29th, 2011 I will appear in the Garland County Circuit Court to plea on the charge of POSSESSION OF MARIJUANA WITH INTENT TO DELIVER. I am faceing 5 years in prison for possessing 3 ounces. Judge Marcia Hearnsberger will be the Judge in this case and her phone number is (501) 622-3760 , her mailing address is: 501 Ouachita, Hot Springs, AR 71901 and her email address is: hearnsberger@cablelynx.com I firmly believe, with all my heart and soul that Cannabis is a gift from God and that no human has a right to restrict me from using or possessing it. If you feel the same as I then please let my accusers hear it. Thanks Ron Davis

• Gee, why might blacks and hispanics support prop 19? The NAACP reports " that from 2006 to 2008, California African-Americans and Latinos were up to 12 times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than whites. In Los Angeles County, for instance, where blacks account for only 10 percent of the population, they accounted for 30 percent of those arrested for pot possession. " This is not a small problem, in 2009 61,000 marijuana possession arrests were made in California. If you actually go to that Rand report you linked you'll find that the authors of the report conclude (on page 19): "We believe that legalizing marijuana in California would effectively eliminate Mexican DTOs' (drug trafficking organizations) revenues from supplying Mexican-grown marijuana to the California market. ..." The problem won't go away by ignoring it and won't be solved by continuing to do the same thing we've been doing for 40+ years. Legalize it, Tax it and control it. Vote Yes on 19, make a difference.

• Moderate: The most solid data out there, a recent RAND study I linked to in a comment above, shows that the cartels' influence in the California pot game would not change much if Prop. 19 passed. Don't blame the messenger. But try to back up your assertion with a little science. -Dennis

• Are you really this stupid? I have to believe this is satire, as a published writer (albeit on a LAWeekly Blog, which is akin to being published on a public Bulletin Board) you really can't be this ignorant. Or can you? Do you really need someone to explain to you why legalization will vastly limit the power of the Mexican cartels. The reason it is coming across the border is because it is ILLEGAL and hence extremely profitable. If it was LEGAL then it could be grown out in the open and the whole process of importing it from cartels would be wholly un-necessary and prohibitively expensive. Simply put, legalization of Marijuana puts Marijuana traffickers out of business. It doesn't encourage border Marijuana smuggling. Hopefully that logic wasn't too difficult to follow? And I didn't even mention your overt racism and the ridiculousness of this comment .... "Surprise surprise. Latinos are getting behind the California ballot initiative to legalize pot. You mean the same folks who gave the world Cheech (not Chong), Acapulco gold and the very word marijuana? Orale!" Good god man. Should we detail all the beneficial things Latinos have contributed to our culture?

• Are you really this stupid? I have to believe this is satire, as a published writer (albeit on a LAWeekly Blog, which is akin to being published on a public Bulletin Board) you really can't be this ignorant. Or can you? Do you really need someone to explain to you why legalization will vastly limit the power of the Mexican cartels. The reason it is coming across the border is because it is ILLEGAL and hence extremely profitable. If it was LEGAL then it could be grown out in the open and the whole process of importing it from cartels would be wholly un-necessary and prohibitively expensive. Simply put, legalization of Marijuana puts Marijuana traffickers out of business. It doesn't encourage border Marijuana smuggling. Hopefully that logic wasn't too difficult to follow? And I didn't even mention your overt racism and the ridiculousness of this comment .... "Surprise surprise. Latinos are getting behind the California ballot initiative to legalize pot. You mean the same folks who gave the world Cheech (not Chong), Acapulco gold and the very word marijuana? Orale!" Good god man. Should we detail all the beneficial things Latinos have contributed to our culture?

• Dennis, My mother is a 80 year old conservative retired registered nurse. She is very active in her church and is popular in the community. Due to her age category many of her friends pass on monthly and many have life threatening or life ending diseases, including various forms of cancer which are treated with chemo, amongst other things. I was totally shocked when she told me that marijuana had strong medicinal benefits for many of her friends and former patients, that she was a supporter of the use of it to alleviate pain and suffering, to get patients to eat and to assist with various ailments such as eye diseases. No one can be as drug or alcohol free as her, she is a saint, basically. I was shocked! There is a saying, those that cannot listen must feel. Obama and people like you do not listen to the majority of voters/readers who tell you something and end up either not being elected or read. Look at all your feedback. Also, look at the number of states and entire countries legalizing it worldwide. I checked and was shocked. Each year another state adds it to ballot. What will the White House do when the majority of states legalize it in one from or another? I am laughing on the inside. Fasten your seat belts, of the people, by the people, for the people, means we will tell the politicians, with our votes, to legalize it, tax it, control it. End of story.

• Mr. Romano, I'e lived in New Mexico, Texas and Nevada with druggies and dealers of these drugs you mention. I can tell you unequivatably with experience that will lower crtime if we don't prohibt it anymore. Statistics are based off of inductive reasoning not deductive sound argument. Look at Philosophy 1010 in logic to get more information. I would argue that drug prohibition is the Gate Way Drug and a bail out to crporations who most benefit from the prohibition of the distribution, regulation and use of elicit drug use in the world. Moreover, th 1937 time period and prior to there was no problems in the southwest and the entire U.S.A and hemp made the Constitutin, clothes, paper and etc which were benefitial till the corporations gained a major foot hold like normal to monopolize off of the ilogicalamerican fear of uneducated people around the states. Moral subjectivism like Blue Label purianic county laws like gambling and alcohol have negatively affeced sales in Alabama like where I'm from now. So, I tink that California will win on Proposition 19 cause of Civil Liberties being denied to american citizens. You are openly railing gainst our 4tth admenment to the U.S Constiituion and a strict point os reference is like treason technically. Believing in the rights of privacy in your own home without abusing the limitations of the law in public is essential to any democracy. Generalizations andstereotypes won't getyou anywhere in this fight at all. There would probably be plenty of other variables in this formula of stistical spghtti noodle soup you are trying to formulate withou considering othr things like the area, literacy and etc or personal vendettas surround such such events in L.A. I think personally its a travesty that corporations own us like the rand Corporation ran by a man who is affilicated with a major pharmacedical company. Look at Wikipedia if you don't believe me and his background with this same organization in support of themilitary complex like th prison complex to destroy our lives other than what the church seeks to thrust on believers and unbelievers alike. Its thhe place of the peopleto decide not the church nor the government on what we should or shouldn't do. maybe get a clue about histry, political science, sociology, literature, and law before spouting such rubbish opinions.

• Peeps: I didn't say Latinos use marijuana more than other groups. And the photo speaks for itself. I asked before if you'd rather have me deny that Latinos have a special cultural relationship with marijuana. But I'll tell you this, as a journalist I'm not in the business of denying the obvious. In terms of the actual facts of the argument, those who think Prop. 19 will get rid of cartels' involvement in California pot trafficking are speaking out there (bleeps). And yes, medical marijuana is legal in California. And no, it hasn't reduced organized crime's involvement nor has it helped reduce pot-related violence. Read this, haters: http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/marijuana/legalizing-pot-would-cut-mexic/. -Dennis

• Dennis does not believe in my position. That is fine as we live in a mostly free county. He can think that keeping it Illegal is going to benefit California. He can insult major Latino groups and place pictures of Cheech and Chong in his articles (you didn't say it but the photo suggests it). We have the freedom to insult people in this county. The People will speak on November 2nd. Can 3 year old's vote in California? This one is going to. Yes on 19

• Dennis, I don't hate you, I just think you've not thought about this at all, and you're relying on your feelings more than facts. Marijuana is NOT legal in California. For you to assert that it is, while most individuals who use it do so illegally, is dishonest. This is why comparisons to 20's violence is perfectly appropriate. When the U.S. as a whole makes marijuana legal, violence associated with the black market sales of marijuana to the U.S. will go the way of violence associated with the black market sales of alcohol to the U.S.. And finally, your opening allusions to Latinos and marijuana wasn't only not really funny, but factually off base. Latinos use marijuana less than most any other ethnic group. http://www.marijuana.com/drug-war-headline-news/156652-ca-la-weekly-s-racist-scaremongering-prop-19-a.html You should really just reconsider the levels of confidence you employ when writing about things you really don't know anything about. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43544.html

• Dennis, I don't hate you, I just think you've not thought about this at all, and you're relying on your feelings more than facts. Marijuana is NOT legal in California. For you to assert that it is, while most individuals who use it do so illegally, is dishonest. This is why comparisons to 20's violence is perfectly appropriate. When the U.S. as a whole makes marijuana legal, violence associated with the black market sales of marijuana to the U.S. will go the way of violence associated with the black market sales of alcohol to the U.S.. And finally, your opening allusions to Latinos and marijuana wasn't only not really funny, but factually off base. Latinos use marijuana less than most any other ethnic group. http://www.marijuana.com/drug-war-headline-news/156652-ca-la-weekly-s-racist-scaremongering-prop-19-a.html You should really just reconsider the levels of confidence you employ when writing about things you really don't know anything about. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1010/43544.html

• "Wait, how's legalizing it going to end the cartel wars? Wouldn't demand go up, with supply following?" You need a remedial high school economics course. How do you not get that legalization will remove the cartels from the supply chain? If I grow my own marijuana in my own backyard for my own personal use, demand goes up? What are the cartels going to come to my house and fight over who gets to water my plants.

• Easy on the racist shpeel. Its all good.

• The writer seems to be under the mistaken impression that displaying crass and craven vincible ignorance is the way to go... Whatta assclown..

• PO, the writer is racist. How about this myopic morin from LULAC who seems only interested in his "community," people of Latin descent. Forget the welfare of people, in general, he seems to be saying. I only give a shit about you if we share the same skin tone.

• I seriously hope this idiot doesn't get paid for writing. Bigot. "Surprise surprise. Latinos are getting behind the California ballot initiative to legalize pot." Idiot without Google skills. "Wait, how's legalizing it going to end the cartel wars? Wouldn't demand go up, with supply following?" Google? Fact checking? Journalism? "Call us stupid (and we know you will), but when medical marijuana dispensaries started to blossom like a bud in the Humboldt sun, violence related to pot increased -- and it seems to us the cartels are plenty busy sending serious weight across the border." Just a sad display of how uninformed and how unwilling people are to check their facts. Even a little!

• Vikki - Highschool-level definitions of race are, well, highschool-level thinking. Plenty of definitions of racial discrimination are based around both genetic and ethnic differences. Hiding behind the broadest possible racial definitions to show that your prejudice isn't TECHNICALLY racism is the lamest defense ever. And given the number of women I've heard who think that women are inferior to men, I don't think that being a member of a group rules out prejudice against your own group. And again, Dennis, you should retract this article for the obvious failure to recognize that the drug cartels are empowered by marijuana prohibition in exactly the same way the Mob was empowered by alcohol prohibition, and that legalization will cut their legs out from under them? California's step might not completely do it alone, until the federal government kills off the marijuana sections of the CSA, but it's a very good start. You're not just wrong, you're egregiously wrong, and you should know better. You owe your readers an apology and should be ashamed of this article. It's either incredibly poorly-thought-out, or just outright dishonest.

• Lunchy, stay in Denver,L.A closed over 520 odd "stores" all were unregulated,unlicenced,unhealthful. and the crime rate is through the roof,Enjoy the snow when you have it,

• One assumes the author purchases his beer from Al Capone's rum runners at the local speakeasy? This article is about the stupidest Drug War hatchet job I've ever read, and I've read some doozies. I'm a beer man, myself, but I've got a good 20 dispensaries within a mile of my place in Denver. My neighbors all still let their kids outside to play with no trouble. If this is what legalization would look like, I got no complaints.

• cartels have a fine "grow" in the national forests in california, just fly over and look,The smokers of pot support the cartels and the violence is on your heads, simple as that, Anything else is political spin...Have a Grand day

• Race refers to classifications of humans into populations or groups based on various factors, such as their culture, language, social practice or heritable characteristics. You must have studied high school sociology in Texas. You know where they teach that humans have only been on the earth for 5000 years because that is what it says in the bible. Pull your had out of the sand.

• I am curius if anyone here took basic high school Sociology? there are three races, White, Black (African American) and Asian. Unless you are Asian or Black THE ARTICLE CAN'T BE RACIST!!!! THERE IS NO "HISPANIC" OR "MEXICAN" race... GEEZ..

• Here you go geniuses: http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/marijuana/legalizing-pot-would-cut-mexic/ Loth: I never said "all Latinos are bong toking, dice hanging from the rear view mirror potheads." Point out where I did so. Arguing with you is like arguing with a three-year-old. Get your logic straight. -Dennis

• So you are Latino so it is ok for you make fun of your culture? Are you saying that all Latinos are bong toking, dice hanging from the rear view mirror potheads? The Reason we are seeing violence on the border is because the President of Mexico has moved Federal Troops to the border regions to engage the cartels. If anything the cartels have lost money from medical pot and are fighting over a smaller market. Imagine if full legalization where to take hold with prop 19 in California. They would loose even more money. Government against drug dealers and the innocent as well as the guilty die. YES ON 19 The "Greatest Generation" is anti pot. They were alive when prohibition started and they are the generation the trusts what the government does. The are also up at 5:30 in the morning and at the Polls by 8:00. If this does not pass it will be because of their votes. It is a good thing the reefer madness generation is going to die of old age soon. If not November 2nd then in the near future. YES ON 19

• Hey y'all, thanks for responding to my provocation. If you knew me I don't think you'd say I'm a racist (I AM Latino), nor do I think you'd say I'm vehemently anti-marijuana. But it's ridiculous to ignore the relationship that Latinos have had with pot over the years. Am I to ignore it? What's racist (Latino, BTW, is not a race, if you really want to go there) about pointing out that we've had a long cultural relationship with this particular drug. Some would even be proud of it. Whatever. My point about legalization vis-a-vis drug cartels is this: Marijuana was legalized for medical use in 1996. Cartels, with marijuana as a core product, got more violent since then. There is in fact a correlation between increased violence at dispensaries and their increase in number. The LAPD, through Chief Charlie Beck, has acknowledged this, but he ultimately flip-flopped on it. All you have to do, however, is Google it. Since spring there have been several homicides connected to medical marijuana, a legal pursuit in California, including the murder of three men in West Hollywood, one in Echo Park/Angeleno Heights, and one in Hollywood. The LAPD found a pretty good size grow operation just outside of one of its Valley stations. U.S. Border Protection is constantly finding cartel-driven immigrants coming across the border into California with duffel bags full of weed. Busts of major grow houses are common. So, what I'm saying is, if this is how it us under legal medical marijuana, why would Prop. 19 make it any better. And if you say it would, prove it. You can't. Interestingly a RAND study on legalization and the cartels is due out Tuesday. I can't wait to see what it says. You can tune in right here to http://www.laweekly.com/informer to find out. Even though I know you hate me, I hope you do. Take care, Dennis

• Cannabis is less physically addictive than caffeine, while the so-called "gateway drug" theory is a complete fantasy, and it was just recently called "half-baked" as a result of a scientific study. CNN reported that Cocaine use has dropped sharply, by 30% since 2002, which is really good news. I worked in addiction medicine for years, and this is what I can advice on the matter: Any suppression of Cannabis use will be immediately followed by an increase in alcohol/hard drug/prescription drug abuse! You don't believe me? Then maybe you will believe the Big Alcohol lobby that is financing the Cannabis Legalization opponents for exactly this reason. Right now Cannabis is just simply perceived as a much safer alternative to alcohol/hard drugs, which is precisely how it should be perceived. To have a society in which there is NO psychoactive substance use is an illusion, and it will be good for our government to realize this. So then, it becomes a matter of "safer choices", just like with the sex education. And Cannabis is, without a shadow of a doubt, a much safer choice than alcohol or hard drugs! Just very recently a research study in addiction medicine has determined that Cannabis may actually serve as an "exit" substance for recovering alcoholics/hard drug addicts! And there is another extremely important property of Cannabis that the prohibitionists would love to keep secret: Cannabis use suppresses violent urges and behaviors and, as one prestigious textbook says, "Only the unsophisticated think otherwise" Then, of course, there is a potential of Cannabis in chronic pain, where other drugs may be ineffective (or physically addictive), with very important potential consequences for our wounded veterans, many of whom have chronic pain. It is also worth noting that Cannabis may have certain preventative value for such devastating conditions as cancer and Alzheimer's disease. And all this comes with no danger of overdoses or induction of a physical dependence! Let's be very happy that the cocaine abuse rate is dropping. Let's not interfere with these dynamics, and then we can possibly achieve what has already been achieved in the Netherlands where the drug overdose rate is 85%(!!) lower than in the US, and that is with much more liberal Cannabis possession laws than in this country! Maybe it is time to give up "dogma" about Cannabis, and to start listening to the experts, if we really want to lower the alcohol/hard drug use in this country, and the accompanying dependencies and overdoses!?

• This is the kind of ignorant shit I would expect from an organization like Fox News. The author should be ashamed of himself for this disgraceful excuse for "journalism."

• What a bunch of dumb saps, Just because the state Makes it legal, Will not change the federal laws, Cartels will still make $$$$$ on the smokes. and after you make that choise. And fail the piss test, McDonnalds won't hire you and your Mom and Pop sure as hell don't want your laze but back. Thank you all for making Mexifornia a 3rd world sewer,Have a Grand Day..

• Maybe we should start a boycott against the alcohol industry in California, or maybe the U.S. for supporting the continued prohibition of marijuana. Most (not all) people I know who use marijuana drink alcoholic beverages. Why is the alcoholic beverage industry afraid of ending the prohibition? Let's send them a message LOUD & CLEAR. Don't buy any alcoholic beverages until they support the movement to legalize marijuana use for all adults. Send a email to every distributor you can asking them to support the legalization of marijuana...and by support I mean giving a large donation to a group supporting Prop 19, and any measure to end the prohibition of marijuana.

• This article may have started with a weird (yet racist) comment, but seriously this is a matter that should'nt be as serious as it is today. Given the fact that people have been smoking this since the beginning of history, our government should take action and think about the positive outcomes you can get over legalizing pot. I say to hell with those who think it's a drug. IT'S A PLANT!

• How did this idiot land a job writing articles?

• We already experienced this after the end of alcohol Prohibition. Prices dropped, American corporations answerable to both the law and taxpayers took over the alcohol industry from illegal distillers, and the product became safer and cheaper. Use went up to some extent. But criminal violence went down. This blog entry makes me think of those who blamed "The Hun" for his "demon beer" and "The Papists" for insisting on wine for sacrament during alcohol prohibition . I see no much has changed in almost a century. Marijuana distributors are being targetted for crime because their product still costs too much because it can not be mass produced. On the other hand, murder rates city-wide are down because gangs no longer have control of the drug trade. After Prop 19, robbing a store with pot won't be worthwhile, as it won't be worth $300/ounce, but more like $20/ounce or less before sales tax.

• The racism and stereotyping in that article is appalling. As PO said, I'm surprised anybody would print such garbage. The rest of the article isn't any better, which I suppose isn't surprising. The author seems to have an innate inability to think rationally. As the saying goes, marijuana may or may not make its users irrational, but it certainly makes some non-users irrational.

• Dennis Romero your a racist piece of shit.. Yea, maybe in the early 1900's when the Mexicans were profiting off of marijuana would your racism make a little bit of sense.. In fact, that is one of the reasons it was banned in the first place.. But now what your saying is just pure hate from the dis functioning brain of a highly uneducated writer who knows not one thing about economics.. What a fn joke how the hell did you get this job??

• Wow -- what an idiot. Legalize it. Tax it. Regulate it. Control it. Stop cartel funding. <strong>VOTE YES ON PROP 19</strong>

• I don't know about the rest of you, but if somehow Anheuser-Busch were to enter the marijuana market, there is no way they would get a cent from me. They can't make a good beer. Why would they do any better for marijuana? And they sure as hell could not beat CA for quality. Maybe if it were legalized across the US, someone who had never had "the good stuff" might got with the AB brand. But then, CA would be doing more exporting, so that Humboldt Bud would be available.

• Demand for a product does not bring with it organized crime and deadly violence- else we would have the same for toilet paper. Prohibition closes the legal market, handing the market for marijuana to organized crime, just as Prohibition did for alcohol. Without prohibition, that is, when the supply chain is opened, demand feeds legal and non-violent businesses like Southern Comfort. To end the violence of the cartels, legalize the production, distribution, and purchase of marijuana.

• Vote Yes on 19. The poster of this blog is a racist idiot.

• Partnership for a Drug Free America Sources of Funding from 1988-91 Extracted from Federal Tax Returns (figures are approximate) Pharmaceutical Firms J. Seward Johnson, Sr. Charitable Trusts --- $1.1 million Du Pont --- 125,000 Proctor and Gamble Fund --- 120,000 Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation --- 115,000 Johnson & Johnson --- 100,000 Merck Foundation --- 85,000 Hoffman-LaRoche --- 75,000 Tobacco and Liquor Firms Phillip Morris --- 125,000 Anheuser-Busch --- 100,000 RJ Reynolds --- 100,000 American Brands --- 100,000 Like it or not, there has never been, and nor will there ever be, a drug-free society; the use of addictive or recreational drugs is a natural part of human existence. Nobody here is claiming that any substance is beneficial for either the individual or society. It is true however that certain substances help the soul heal and relieve pain while others provide short-term relief from a monotonous existence at the risk of possible long-term health problems. An important aspect of Individual freedom is the right to do with yourself as you please as long as your actions cause no unnecessary suffering or direct harm to others. Many among us may disagree with this, and they should be free to believe what they wish, but the moment they are willing to use force to impose their will on the rest of us, is the exact same moment that the petty criminals/dealers, the Mafia, drug barons, terrorists and corrupt government officials/agencies enter the equation. The problems created by self harm then rapidly pale into insignificance as society spirals downwards into a dark abyss, while the most shady characters and 'black-market corporate entities' exponentially enrich themselves in a feeding frenzy likened to that of piranhas on bath-tub meth.

• We can either ask the Tooth Fairy to stop people taking drugs or we can decide to regulate them properly. Prohibition is not regulation, it's a hideous nightmare for all of us and our families, except of course for the lowest lifeforms amongst us. Because Drug cartels will always have an endless supply of ready cash for wages, bribery and equipment, no amount of tax money, police powers, weaponry, wishful thinking or pseudo-science will make our streets safe again. Only an end to prohibition can do that! How much longer are we willing to foolishly risk our own survival by continuing to ignore the obvious, historically confirmed solution? Debating whether a particular drug is harmless or not is missing the whole point. Is marijuana dangerous? Is Cocaine dangerous? Is Alcohol dangerous? I simply don't care if they are or not; If someone wants to attempt to enhance or destroy their lives with drugs thats their business and not anybody else's. Their lives aren't ours to direct. Why on earth does anyone think it's acceptable to want to control certain behaviors, such as the bedroom habits or choice of poison of fully grown adults? Isn't it high time we evolved enough to get past this crap? Surely we need to accept, that the only way to truly be free, is that you agree, in return, to allow other people to be free, even if it offends your personal sensibilities. What's more; if it's not directly hurting you and you forbid it, then you can be sure that it will create unforeseen circumstances, which WILL have an adverse affect on YOUR wellbeing! -- Actually, a large proportion of those arising circumstances may not come as such a surprise to those of us who are capable of paying due attention to historical precedent. If you support prohibition then you've helped trigger the worst crime wave in history. If you support prohibition you've a helped create a black market with massive incentives to hook both adults and children alike. If you support prohibition you've helped to make these dangerous substances available in schools and prisons. If you support prohibition you've helped raise gang warfare to a level not seen since the days of alcohol bootlegging. If you support prohibition you've helped create the prison-for-profit synergy with drug lords. If you support prohibition you've helped remove many important civil liberties from those citizens you falsely claim to represent. If you support prohibition you've helped put previously unknown and contaminated drugs on the streets. If you support prohibition you've helped to escalate Theft, Muggings and Burglaries. If you support prohibition you've helped to divert scarce law-enforcement resources away from protecting your fellow citizens from the ever escalating violence against their person or property. If you support prohibition you've helped overcrowd the courts and prisons, thus making it increasingly impossible to curtail the people who are hurting and terrorizing others. If you support prohibition you've helped evolve local gangs into transnational enterprises with intricate power structures that reach into every corner of society, controlling vast swaths of territory with significant social and military resources at their disposal.

• Concept: According to the ONDCP, the cartels derive an estimated 60% of their profits from cannabis. It makes sense, because about half the population of America has tried it, whereas less than 10% of Americans have tried any of the harder drugs they traffic.

• Wow what a moron. "Wait, how's legalizing it going to end the cartel wars? Wouldn't demand go up, with supply following?" No. Demand would go up slightly, but removing the price floor of prohibition (econ 101, you would know this if you made it past high school you racist dolt) would cause prices to drop massively, from $400 an ounce to $50-90 an ounce. There is no more profit, and like the end of alcohol prohibition, the cartels would shrink in size and power, from violent thugs able to control a national government to a loose group of petty criminals. "Call us stupid (and we know you will)" We? Got a case of MPD now, Mr. Romero? But since you want me to: you are stupid. Along with those other voices floating around in that microcephalus of yours. "but when medical marijuana dispensaries started to blossom like a bud in the Humboldt sun, violence related to pot increased" It actually decreased, if you look at any government figures. Even the LAPD have said that dispensaries have brought virtually no crime, and are less a risk to the community than liquor stores. "So ... is Anheuser-Busch going to take over pot cultivation and distribution, or what?" No, local citizens (since it is a change in state law only) will, just like they did (and do) under the wildly successful Prop 19. "On another note, LULAC board member Angel Lu�no played the economy card in arguing for Prop. 19, which would tax pot and let you have up to an ounce at a time if you're 21 or older." No shit, Sherlock. It would open up jobs: bud trimmers, growers, sellers, transporters, not to mention tangentially related businesses such as seed suppliers, fertilizer suppliers, food manufacturers (both for 'munchies' and also food from hemp), clothiers, and more. Despite what ignorant dinosaurs such as yourself may think, cannabis will play a strong hand in revitalizing the economy

• PO related to your comment "Not only is this article ignorant, it is racist against hispanics." continue reading "By Dennis Romero" and you will see a pattern

• probably the ad revenue of laweekly would go down if all those "medical marijuana dispensaries" related ads were removed

• Not only is this article ignorant, it is racist against hispanics. This paragraph is completely racist - implying that all hispanics are pot-smokers. Unbelievable this garbage is allowed here. "Surprise surprise. Latinos are getting behind the California ballot initiative to legalize pot. You mean the same folks who gave the world Cheech (not Chong), Acapulco gold and the very word marijuana? Orale!"

• What an ignorant, uneducated article. How many gangs sell alcohol, cigs, and prescription drugs? This author is either uneducated or disingenuous.

• Are you completely unaware of basic economics? The cartels prosper BECAUSE drugs are illegal. Could you not have been bothered to read a single comparison between marijuana prohibition and alcohol prohibition, which brought us Capone and his ilk? Why would a single cent of marijuana money go south of the border if we could legally grow it here? Come on, man. Get at least a basic education in supply, demand, and the law, before writing about it. Your post is just knee-jerk reaction at its worst.

• Lol, "playing the economy card"? What a lame article... If you think legal and taxed marijuana is worse than what we currently have then you don't have a brain.

• it's been a long time since cartels sent pot over the borders... more like heroin meth and cocaine

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