U.S. Legalization of Marijuana Has Hit Mexican Cartels' Cross-Border Trade

U.S. Legalization of Marijuana Has Hit Mexican Cartels' Cross-Border Trade

Published on 4/8/15

The US Border Patrol has a 2,000 mile border to police, and in 2011 they seized 2.5 million pounds of marijuana. Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington, only a portion of the US marijuana market, only 1.9 million pounds of pot were seized in 2014. This decrease in product seems directly related to the legalization in the US, as citizens are able to legally purchase their government regulated buds from a store, and not have to rely on anonymously imported substances.

Drug policy reformists tout this market shift from Mexican gangsters to American licensed growers as a reason to spread legalization. “It is no surprise to me that marijuana consumers choose to buy their product from a legal tax-paying business as opposed to a black market product that is not tested or regulated,” says Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority. “When you go to a legal store, you know what you are getting, and that is not going to be contaminated.”

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