Café Society will meet at Panera on Thursday, November 4.

From "How will California change if voters make marijuana legal?" by Daniel B. Wood:

"The decades-long war on drugs has failed," says the field director of the Yes on 19 campaign. "It's still easier for a kid to get his hands on a joint than to get a beer or a cigarette. Sixty percent of drug cartels' money comes from marijuana sales. We need to take that away."

Several blocks away, Livina Hedgerow, kneeling in her garden, says Prop. 19 is a bad idea.

"This is just what we don't need," says the retired teacher. "Another legal drug for kids to get messed up on. It will lead them to worse drugs. It's just wrong."

The two comments frame the debate swirling in California over Prop. 19 and what the state would look like if voters make it the first in the nation to legalize, regulate, and tax the sale of marijuana.

Questions for Consideration: What are the pros and cons to legalizing marijuana? If California's Proposition 19 gets passed, will other states follow suit and would you support this trend? Why or why not? How can we prevent the abuse of marijuana or any drugs? Can you think of economic revival projects for neighborhoods that could benefit from growing marijuana and what are some possibilities? Where should money from the high tax on marijuana go?

Want to learn more?

• Cali's Pot Legalization Initiative Digs Into the Weeds of Race
• Is Getting High a Human Right?
• The feds say no way
• The 7 Biggest Consequences Of Proposition 19 Passing
• World Watches As California Votes On Legalizing Dope