Parker McMillan looks over products at MedMen in West Hollywood, Calif., on Jan. 1, 2018, when it became legal in to sell recreational marijuana. Laws allowing marijuana in states like Colorado, Washington and California are causing shifts in the Mexican underworld that have also led to increased violence as the cartels move away from its cash cow of marijuana to traffic more heroin and methamphetamines. (Photo: ROBERT HANASHIRO/USA TODAY)
USA Today: Mexican cartels pushing more heroin after U.S. states relax marijuana laws
CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — As more U.S. states legalize the use of marijuana, Mexico's violent drug cartels are turning to the basic law of supply and demand.
That means small farmers, or campesinos, in this border state's rugged Sierra Madre who long planted marijuana to be smuggled into the United States are switching to opium poppies, which bring a higher price. The opium gum harvested is processed into heroin to feed the ravaging U.S. opioid crisis.
“Marijuana isn’t as valuable, so they switched to a more profitable product,” said Javier Ávila, a Jesuit priest in this region rife with drug cartel activities.
Laws allowing marijuana in states like Colorado, Washington and California are causing shifts in the Mexican underworld that have also led to increased violence as the cartels move away from its cash cow of marijuana to traffic more heroin and methamphetamines.
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WNU editor: Mexico has a history of growing opium. But the plant with its distinctive flower is easy to spot, and the onus will be on Mexico's law enforcement to stop it.
4 comments:
Many of the mexican cartels actually operate within US borders. A lot of the weed they were growing was in the California mountains because it's incredibly easy for one guy to maintain a sizable crop of weed. Opium is a much more hands on plant, especially the harvesting, and likely isn't going to be done in California to the same scale. Marijuana legalization will put a large dent in cartel influence within our own borders.
Like Anon 11:33 says, much of the cartel marijuana is grown in U.S.
Gee, where’s the USarmy/national guard on this issue?
I’ve even heard of some limited poppy growing in Calif. mountains, but not sure of extent of that—I was surprised to hear it.
The USATODAY headline is pretty misleading, because heroin has been grown in Mexico and imported to the US for decades now.
People are SO UNAWARE and the media doesn’t help.
Hell, I hope coca production never hits the western mountains of the US, although I wonder if that’s botanically feasible.
Fuckin vale of tears man
The War on Drugs is mostly BS is my feeling—not to disparage the lives lost and brave work done.
Politicians—for whatever reason—just haven’t taken it as seriously as...well what _do_ they take seriously?
Not necessarily, if cartels can grow (illegally, as before) in “Legal” US states, to sell to “Prohibition” states. (Ie, the current situation)
Meth is the catalyst.
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