Grits
doesn't imagine voters in Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, D.C.,
etc. who approved measures to legalize pot in recent elections were
considering the global geopolitics of criminal organizations and their
funding streams when they cast their ballots for recreational pot use.
But the demand for legal pot may be squeezing bad guys from south of the
border out of the market. According to Texas Public Radio, "Legal pot in the U.S. may be undercutting Mexican marijuana," reducing the base revenue stream to violent drug cartels. Who'da thought? Not all "unintended consequences" are negative!
Even
outside states where pot has been legalized or decriminalized, the market is shifting to
higher quality American product. The story included this local quote
about the shift in suppliers for domestic marijuana markets: "'We're
still seeing marijuana. But it's almost all the homegrown stuff
here from the States and from Canada. It's just not the compressed
marijuana from Mexico that we see,' says Lt. David Socha, of the Austin
Police Department narcotics section."
"higher quality American product"
ReplyDeleteThink: How often do you see those four words together in a sentence un-ironically?
Thanks for your post for about American marijuana legalization.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am not saying that reducing the base revenue stream to violent drug cartels was/ is an intended consequence of American marijuana legalization per se, I do believe that at least some people halfway familiar with both the industry and simple principles of economics anticipated at least competing with, if not full-blown undercutting, foreign product and, thus, squeezing the bad guys from south of the border out of our markets. Think industries along the lines of tobacco, pharmaceuticals, alcohol and maybe even guns and hunting and trucks and SUVs, and then couple that generic but thriving industry concept with the eager minds of enough local entrepreneurs who have been counting down the days and, yes, it was actually quite foreseeable that Americans would wisely jump at the opportunity to regulate for themselves a multi-billion dollar industry, if not also intended to squeeze out the bad guys. Again, think of the economic industries relating to alcohol or tobacco; practically direct parallels. Heck, maybe Greg Abbott and his friends could figure out a way to "kill two birds with one stone": squeeze out the bad guys by legalizing marijuana, and then using tax revenue from marijuana sales to complete their Great Wall of Texas; ha! Salt in the wound! (A truly ingenious and one of a kind idea, the Great Wall of Texas, because the Great Wall of China was erected to prevent incursions by various hostile and bellicose peoples. The Great Wall of Texas, however, is being erected because Texas closed its doors to immigration sometime around 1954 when America decided to close down Ellis Island? When did America un-become a Land of Opportunity founded by individuals who, in one form or fashion, were themselves migrants and/ or miscreants? But I digress.)
ReplyDeleteI thought this was one of the primary goals. Kind of a pot version of "drill here, drill now" that would put money in our coffers, and keep it out of the cartels' hands.
ReplyDeleteHope Texas catches up with the smart states someday.
ReplyDeleteI prefer $0.50 a gram mexican weed over $20-50 "high quality American" weed any day. Learn how to cure that $0.50 a gram weed and you'll have that $20 right in front of you. No way I'd pay those insane dispensary prices ANYWHERE!
ReplyDeleteI think it is time to allow farmers to raise hemp and pot! They are broke raising so much cotton! Also, many sick Texans could use pot and the oil.
ReplyDelete