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US-Grown Mom n' Pop Pot Burns Mexican Cartels

Economic forces more potent than law enforcement

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 7, 2009 10:20 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Mexican drug cartels are facing an opponent more formidable than law enforcement: competition. The long-growing illicit US pot industry has gotten a shot in the arm from the new rules surrounding medical marijuana, the Washington Post reports. Whereas once Mexican and Colombian groups produced nearly all the pot consumed in the US, now domestic growers, mostly small mom-and-pop operations, control around half the multibillion dollar market.

That’s putting the squeeze on cartels in a way decades of police crackdowns haven’t. Though authorities tend to focus on hard drugs like cocaine or heroin, it’s pot that provides most of the cartels’ revenue. “Marijuana created the drug trafficking organizations you see today,” says one leading authority. But the cartels aren’t giving up. Like any business, they’re trying to improve their product and delivery system to stay competitive.

A state police officer stands amid marijuana plants found in a greenhouse at a ranch in Tecate, Mexico, Thursday, March 12, 2009.
A state police officer stands amid marijuana plants found in a greenhouse at a ranch in Tecate, Mexico, Thursday, March 12, 2009.   (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
Kentucky State Police find a small plot of marijuana hidden among other vegetation on an Appalachian hillside near Barbourville, Ky., Wed., July 22, 2009.
Kentucky State Police find a small plot of marijuana hidden among other vegetation on an Appalachian hillside near Barbourville, Ky., Wed., July 22, 2009.   (AP Photo/Roger Alford)
A member of the AFI, carries marijuana plants at a large plantation that was found on the outskirts of Guadalajara Mexico, Aug 13, 2009. Police confiscated and burnt over 7,000 kilos of pot.
A member of the AFI, carries marijuana plants at a large plantation that was found on the outskirts of Guadalajara Mexico, Aug 13, 2009. Police confiscated and burnt over 7,000 kilos of pot.   (AP Photo/Carlos Jasso)
Police officers stand at a marijuana plantation at Valle de las Palmas, in the outskirts of Tijuana, northern Mexico, Wednesday, June 17, 2009.
Police officers stand at a marijuana plantation at Valle de las Palmas, in the outskirts of Tijuana, northern Mexico, Wednesday, June 17, 2009.   (AP Photo/Guillermo Arias)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 28 comments
passinthru
Oct 10, 2009 3:07 AM CDT
I THINK THEYRE FINALLY FIGURING OUT HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY WIN THE WAR ON "DRUGS".
yummines
Oct 8, 2009 12:57 PM CDT
well now people seem to have come to their senses. Pot is not a dangerous drug compared to alcohol and cigarettes (think alcohol isn't a drug? find the definition of drug first) so y not legalize it? it would kill drug cartels' business, allow for less crowded jails, stop shady buisnesses, and overall help America get much more money. so the only question is not why but why not?
fancygapva
Oct 8, 2009 12:57 PM CDT
American marijuana is much better quality than anything from south of the border, even columbian, which used to be quite famous. Or so I am told.

 
War on Drugs • medical marijuana • marijuana • drug cartel • marijuana distribution • Mexican drug cartel

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