In March, a bill was introduced in the California State Assembly seeking to decriminalize recreational use of marijuana and subjecting it to taxation and regulation like alcohol. However, a recent poll by CBS news found that 58 percent of Americans oppose marijuana legalization.

Recently on Latino USA, University of Miami Professor Bruce Bagley, an expert on drug cartels and violence, suggested that legalizing or even decriminalizing non-violent Marijuana usage could have an impact on drug violence in North America. But politically, Bagley doubted it would happen.

But with talk that the illegal drug trade is fueling violence in Mexico and spilling over into the U.S., Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-CA, 47th) suggests to Maria Hinojosa that California might make a good pilot study to see whether changing the nation’s drug laws would be beneficial for the country.

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