The high and the mighty

We investigate how the legalisation of cannabis in California could impact the economy and the criminal justice system.

Cannabis is California's number one cash crop. This fall, voters will decide whether or not to fully legalise the drug and transform US drug policy.

The implications are huge if it passes. It will have a profound effect on the state's struggling economy, the overburdened criminal justice system and even the raging drug war in neighbouring Mexico that has claimed nearly 30,000 lives.

In the meantime, no politicians running for statewide office are supporting the measure. What does that say about the politics of cannabis? 

On this episode of Fault Lines, Josh Rushing travels deep inside the world of cannabis in California to explore the implications for the economy, politicians and the criminal justice system. What will it mean if the state votes to legalise it?

Mexico court frees jailed Atenco activists

Mexico's supreme court has ordered the release of 12 community activists whose case has been the focus of an international campaign. The activists were serving long prison terms for the alleged kidnapping of police officers during a protest in the town of San Salvador de Atenco in 2006.

But the judges found there had been no real evidence against them.
Last week 11 Nobel peace prize winners asked President Felipe Calderon to release the activists.
Human rights groups have hailed the ruling as a victory in the fight against miscarriages of justice in Mexico.
"criminalising protest"