Flash News from the Drug Dealers
Whenever you talk about the consequences of cannabis legalization, the best part of the people you discuss with tend to focus on either the business or the health side of the story. This is not particularly surprising. Just think about it. Even if you are a pot smoker and a cannabis lover (which means you are one of those who buy cannabis from this website http://greenhouseseeds.nl/) you probably spend much of your time reading about the health benefits cannabis can bring to the table. And if you feel particularly good about yourself, and about your wallet, you quite certainly spend the rest of the day planning the next steps of your cannabis-growing-selling adventures.
Why is this? From both a psychological and a sociological perspective, cannabis is a cultural product, and in our culture we tend to focus on money and wellbeing. I believe we can all agree on this.
There is, however, a side of the cannabis-legalization story that for some reason we tend to overlook. And what surprises me is that, truth be told, this is something that involves both health and business.
What I am talking about is the latest news about the impact legalization is having on Mexican drug cartels. One the major arguments of those who believe legalization is “bad” – and I mean, “just bad” – is based on the idea that the war against cannabis is part of the war against drugs. But what does that mean? Well, it literally means that if you stop fighting cannabis, cartels and other illegal institutions win. This is pure logic… and also an extremely absurd paradox.
From the beginning of 2015, in fact, news and reports have shown over and over again that cannabis legalization in both Washington and Colorado has had an incredibly negative impact on drug dealers and Mexican drug cartels. And this means also many people didn’t get arrested or killed (the health side of this story) because of the illegal cannabis trade. This is an amazing result that should be underlined more often and examined more closely.
On one hand, both Mexican cartels and regular drug dealers are trying to exploit the fact that legal marijuana is still quite expensive, especially when you compare it with the things you can buy on the street. On the other hand, organized crime is quickly refocusing on drugs such as cocaine and heroin, in order to fill the gap legal marijuana is causing.
Isn’t it time to actively promote legal marijuana, something that would probably push down the prices of legal pot and invite people to use cannabis instead of cocaine and heroin?
