Cartels are so into the government that this is hardly going to change, if people stop using drugs then they are just going to kidnap and extort everyone, also mexican society is really backwards on this.
Just to let you know about random shit that happens in my city:
Most people feel proud because they know someone "important" that is in the cartel.
If you open a business (no matter big or small) you could get a visit from the cartels (usually a group of kids with guns) asking (through violent means) for their share (even educational institutions).
You see cartel sentinels (mostly kids/teenagers or adults on poverty) on every other corner with their radio reporting activities, and they don't even bother to hide it.
Every once in a while you see thrashed SUVs full of teenagers with high caliber guns/rifles (these little shits are their sicarios).
Also you see millitary trucks with bigass machine guns mounted, that belong to the cartels, most of them customized with stickers that read "Elite troop of hell" or some other stupid names that seems taken out from a call of duty clan.
Shootings in plain day ever other week, and daily shootings on the ugly parts of the city.
(Note the emphasis on their cowardly ways of using the young)
I could say that the change is going to come through education and higher paid wages, but many people that are in criminal activities is because they get kidnapped and put to work for them, you cant overthrow them since they have so much power in the government and in the street, these people don't respect anything, terrorist is a soft word to describe them, outside interferencee will only make it uglier since they dont have a code and will take many innocent people down with them, as seen yesterday, "capture our chiefs son and we will burn everything to the ground"
Legalization is a start since there is so much money to be made and people will always need their drugs, but there will linger some groups that will exploit people through other means, the conclusion is that we hope they kill each other on their struggle to power.
This shit is really pathetic, and i hope people understood what kind of drive-by comment this is.