For a very long time, Mexico has been the top supplier for illegal marijuana to the United States. The marijuana from Mexico has been supplied by very dangerous drug cartels that are responsible for numerous murders and other horrors in mexico and the United States. Marijuana reform in the United States has decreased the profits from marijuana sales by these cartels.
Many news outlets have attributed decreased marijuana sales by cartels to recreational marijuana. While I agree that recreational legalization hurts cartels, medical marijuana reform has hurt the cartels more than recreational reform. Recreational sales are very new, and only occur in Colorado. that’s not enough to hurt cartels as much as the multiple states that have medical marijuana. The cultivation and sales attributed to medical marijuana is a much more likely contributor in my opinion. Patients used to have to buy cartel marijuana. Fortunately, now hundreds of thousands (if not millions) now grow their own or buy it from a dispensary.
Eventually as legalization spreads, it will hurt the cartels even more. When dozens of states allow legal recreational gardens and sales, cartels will be brought to their knees, at least in the marijuana world. If Mexico were to ever legalize, especially in conjunction with the U.S., it would be game over for cartel marijuana sales. Legalization is something that Mexico’s President would consider if the United States led the way. Per Reuters:
“Pena Nieto says he is in favor of debating the issue despite personal misgivings about legalizing cannabis, and lawmakers say Mexico cannot be out of step for ever with the United States, the principal buyer of illicit drugs that cross the border.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper El Pais, Pena Nieto said legalization of marijuana was a “growing phenomenon” and that the policies followed in the last 30 to 40 years had only led to more consumption and more production of drugs.
“Therefore it’s a failed policy,” he told the newspaper.”
The United States, as the largest marketplace on the planet for marijuana, needs to lead the way on legalization. mexico will likely not make the first move. Even if they did, it wouldn’t help solve the cartel problem, because cartels would still benefit from prohibition in the United States. It’s time to put cartels out of business. it’s time to stop the pain and suffering that cartels cause. It’s time the United States made the logical decision to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana.
