I had what I thought to be an interesting thought today; How would the legalization of Marijuana here in the United States effect Mexico?
I saw news clip not too long ago (I can't remember where) but it was talking about the violence that has been occurring all though the border towns of Mexico.They stated that keeping/gaining control of the drug routes is a pivotal factor in the recent outbreaks of violence.
With the amount of progress the United States has made recently in regards to marijuana reform, it would not be a shock if one day in the near future it was made completely legal. This could either completely cripple the Mexican cartels, or it could make matter much worse.
If we no longer depended on the Mexican cartels to smuggle cannabis crop into the U.S a big portion of their profits would be completely gone. While this would ultimately cause their bottom line to suffer, it would not be a big enough blow to completely cripple the Mexican cartels. A study conducted by Rand Corporation estimates that only 15 to 26 percent of cartel's income comes from the marijuana export.
What people must remember is that these cartels run vast empires with hundreds of different criminal activities contributing to their profits. Drug smuggling represents only a portion of their activities which span all the way from human trafficking to money laundering. Furthermore, marijuana exports account for only a small portion of their drug smuggling operations which include cocaine, heroin, and Methamphetamines.
So the question remains, how would the legalization of marijuana here in the U.S effect Mexico? Honestly, I don't think it would have much of an effect. The cartels would continue to smuggle other drugs into the country and the war over territory would continue. It will take a lot more than the legalization of marijuana to fix all the problems along the border.