Small mom-and-pop pot growers in the U.S are having more of an effect against drug cartels from Mexico than the War on Drugs ever has, according to law enforcement.
CBS News reports that law enforcement officials and small-time growers in the U.S. are having a huge impact on the profits of Mexican drug cartels. Arrests and seizures from the Drug War over the past few decades have not been nearly as effective.
As more people are growing in the U.S., the cartels are having a hard time finding customers. They used to be one of the top suppliers in the U.S. for marijuana, along with Colombia. Now the U.S. produces about half of its own pot. Less cartels means less violent crime, as opposed to the non-violent crimes of mere possession and cultivation. Small time growers tend to avoid violent crime and simply wish to provide for a local demand. It would seem that legalization might kill their market in the U.S. completely.
While meth, cocaine and heroin also turn a profit, marijuana has been the biggest cash crop for the violent cartels. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy states that $8.6 billion out of $13.8 billion were derived from marijuana sales in 2006.
There are currently 13 states in the U.S. that have at least partially decriminalized marijuana, usually for medical purposes.
Though authorities have located and destroyed roughly eight million plants in the U.S last year, the marijuana division of the Humboldt County Sheriff's office, led by officer Wayne Hanson says:
"I would truthfully say we're lucky if we're getting 1 percent."
Mexican cartels are going to significant lengths to try to stay in business in the United States. They are invading National Parks in order to grow so that they don't have as much distance to cover in order to deliver their product. Yet, their product is known on the street to be somewhat inferior in quality compared to home-growers who tend to take the time to specifically cultivate more potent strains. Furthermore, the local growers often sell to legal Marijuana banks that provide pot for those with a prescription and permit.
It seems that the cartels are, in a way, being bred out of the U.S.
