Can legal marijuana stop Mexico’s drug cartels?

Mexico is set to fully legalise marijuana, a move proponents of cannabis believe will help curb rampant gang violence.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has said he supports the decriminalisation of pot as part of a broader measure of the country’s security policy.

Last year, the Supreme Court ruled that the prohibition of recreational use of marijuana violated the constitution and ordered lawmakers to come up with a legislative framework. Lawmakers have until October 24 to do so. Obrador’s MORENA party controls both chambers of Congress so legislation is likely to pass.

Critics say drug cartels would just move on to trafficking other drugs such as crystal meth and fentanyl or move to non drug-related crimes like human smuggling and fuel theft.

So will legalising pot put an end to Mexico’s violent drug cartels? We will debate that question with our panel.

On this episode of The Stream, we speak with: 
Juan F Torres-Landa @JuanFTorresLand 
Secretary General, Mexico United Against Crime
mucd.org.mx 

Deborah Bonello @mexicoreporter
Founder, Mexico Reporter
mexicoreporter.com

Ioan Grillo @ioangrillo
Author, El Narco: Inside Mexico’s Criminal Insurgency
ioangrillo.com

Read more: 
Mexico just took a big step toward marijuana legalisation – Vox 
Mexico set to fully legalise cannabis in days – The Independent 
Here’s what’s behind Mexico’s radical move toward legalising marijuana during its war on drugs – Los Angeles Times 

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.