Could legalized marijuana increase cartel profits, violence?
Could legalized marijuana increase cartel profits, violence?
Post by Brian O'Neill on Nov. 19, 2012 at 8:17 am
November 19, 2012 8:17 am
In the realm of unintended consequences, irony rules supreme.
Before Mexican President Felipe Calderon first broached the subject of legalized marijuana, now a reality in Colorado and Washington, it was generally assumed by many (including me) that legalization would hurt the bottom line of the violent drug cartels operating in North and Central America. That may not be the case.
In a recent conference with leaders from Honduras, Costa Rica and Belize, Calderon had the following statement: ”It has become necessary to analyze in depth the implications for public policy and health in our nations emerging from the state and local moves to allow the legal production, consumption and distribution of marijuana in some countries of our continent” (Trib 11/12).
If you have trouble deciphering political nonspeak, a representative of Mexico’s president-elect made it even plainer. He wondered aloud how [Mexico] would enforce a ban on growing and smuggling a drug that is now legal under some U.S. state laws.
In other words, if we’re going to legalize it, Mexico will stop worrying about it.
Does anyone else see a problem with that? If this policy means turning a blind eye to big marijuana grow operations in Mexico, that means bigger profits for large scale drug operators like the Zeta and Sinaloa cartels. With 48 states still prohibiting marijuana, this could lead to a banner year for Mexican marijuana importers.
And what exactly does it mean if Mexican officials stop banning marijuana smuggling? Could this also mean that other narcotics, such as cocaine and methemphetamine (the latter a Mexican product, the former imported through Mexico from Colombia) get a free northbound pass at the border?
It is hard to blame the Mexican government’s reaction to American flip-flopping.
Since Calderon’s declaration of war against the drug cartels in began six years ago, death and violence have rained down on Mexicans like a modern day plague.
With municipal, state and federal police agencies racked with corruption, the Mexican army has taken the lead in the brutal crackdown against cartels whose violence is nothing short of biblical. By some accounts, however, the army itself has taken on some of the brutal tactics initiated by cartel operatives.
What a mess.
The only conclusion possible at this point is that our government’s next move must be very considered. From medical marijuana patients to cartel bosses, from our federal agents and prosecutors to terrorized citizens of Mexican killing fields, the disparate groups with a stake in the future of legalized marijuana deserve a balanced final decision.
It is troubling that Governor Gregoire’s recent attempt to nail down Justice Department officials on their response to the new laws coming to Colorado and Washington. Let’s just hope that it is due to a lengthy and meaningful discussion.
This is a volatile issue with many factors in play, and any future decision by the feds could have major impact on social issues, economics and public safety.
But is it really possible that a more porous border and increased cartel drug profiteering might be one of the dominoes inadvertently tripped when we passed I-502? At this point, it’s impossible to say.
As an unintended consequence, this ironic outcome would not be the least bit funny.
http://blog.thenewstribune.com/bluebyline/2012/11/19/could-legalized-marijuana-increase-cartel-profits-violence/
