USD to Discuss Proposition 19 and Marijuana Legalization

The Trans-Border Institute at the University of San Diego will host an international conference to discuss Proposition 19 and the projected effects it will have on drug trafficking-related violence in Mexico. This initiative would effectively end prohibition of marijuana production, possession, and consumption, while applying many of the same restrictions that apply to alcohol in the state of California.

The initiative comes to a vote shortly after former Mexican President Vicente Fox\'s August 2010 endorsement of legalizing drugs, due to the devastating violence that has killed more than 28,000 people in Mexico.
In light of other recent statements by Mexican President Felipe Calderón calling for an open debate on the possibility of drug legalization, the Trans-Border Institute plans to examine the political viability and potential consequences that California\'s Proposition 19 may have for Mexico and for counter-drug efforts more broadly.

The conference is organized into three panels: Current Counter- Narcotics Efforts in the U.S.-Mexico Context; Proposed Initiative to Legalize Use of Marijuana in California; and Potential Implications in U.S. and Mexican Drug Policy.

The conference is open to the public and to the press, but space is limited. Please RSVP to 619/260-4148 or register at www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/tbi/.

WHO:

• Kathleen Frydl, PhD, assistant professor of history, University of California Berkeley
• Kyle Kazan, former-Torrance police officer, Law Enforcement Officers Against Prohibition
• Alex Kreit, Thomas Jefferson School of Law
• Rosalie Pacula, Drug Policy Research Center, RAND
• Kathleen A. Staudt, PhD, professor of political science, University of Texas at El Paso
• Patrick Timmons, PhD, international liaison, Students for Sensible Drug Policy
• Roger Morgan, Chairman and Executive Director of Coalition for a Drug-free California
• Dante Haro, Professor at the University of Guadalajara
• Rommel Moreno Manjarrez, Attorney General of Baja California

WHAT: Discussion at USD’s Trans-Border Institute: Ending Prohibition: Proposition 19 and Marijuana Legalization

WHERE: University of San Diego
Hahn University Center Forums A & B
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA

WHEN: Thursday, October 14, 2010 from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to (619) 260-4148 or register at www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/tbi/.

About the University of San Diego

Strengthened by the Catholic intellectual tradition, we confront humanity’s challenges by fostering peace, working for justice and leading with love. With more than 8,000 students from 75 countries and 44 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. USD’s eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the Knauss School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. In 2021, USD was named a “Laudato Si’ University” by the Vatican with a seven-year commitment to address humanity’s urgent challenges by working together to take care of our common home.