Good news: "Growing Marijuana Is No Longer Attract
Post# of 36729
Posted On: 04/17/2014 12:14:54 PM
Good news: "Growing Marijuana Is No Longer Attractive to Cartels"
Growing Marijuana Is No Longer Attractive to Cartels
April 11th, 2014
Mexican farmers have stopped growing marijuana for the first time in generations after the price for a pound plummeted 75% from $100 per kilogram to less than $25 per kilogram. Legalized cannabis in the United States – albeit on a limited level – may have already cost drug cartels billions of dollars. Less money flowing to these cartels could cut the profits and violence associated with the drug money.
Farmers in the “Golden Triangle” region of Sinaloa – an area notorious for gangsters and marijuana harvests – have said they are no longer planting the crop. With legalization in place in the U.S., they’re unable to compete with U.S. growers, especially in terms of quality. RAND Corporation estimates that Mexican cartels earn more than $6 billion per year from drug smuggling to the U.S.
“[If California exports its newly legal, high-quality, low-cost product to other states], it could undercut sales of Mexican marijuana in much of the U.S., cutting [cartel] marijuana export revenues by more than 65% and probably by 85% or more,” read a report by RAND Corporation. “In this scenario, the [cartels] would lose approximately 20% of their total drug export revenue.”
At the same time, University of Texas Dallas researchers found that legalized marijuana didn’t increase crime rates in the U.S. In fact, legalization may reduce some violent crimes, including homicide and assault. The study looked at crime rates for all 50 states between 1990 and 2006, as well as the 11 states that legalized medical marijuana during that time period.
“After controlling for a host of known factors related to changes in crime rates, we found no evidence of increases in any of these crimes for states after legalizing marijuana for medical use,” said Robert Morris, the study’s lead author, in a recent report on the Huffington Post. “In fact, for some forms of violence we found partial support for declines after passing of this legislation.”
And finally, as if crime wasn’t a big enough factor in the decision, the added employment and tax revenue from domestic marijuana cultivation is perhaps the final nail in the coffin.
http://www.cannabisfn.com/growing-marijuana-i...o-cartels/
Growing Marijuana Is No Longer Attractive to Cartels
April 11th, 2014
Mexican farmers have stopped growing marijuana for the first time in generations after the price for a pound plummeted 75% from $100 per kilogram to less than $25 per kilogram. Legalized cannabis in the United States – albeit on a limited level – may have already cost drug cartels billions of dollars. Less money flowing to these cartels could cut the profits and violence associated with the drug money.
Farmers in the “Golden Triangle” region of Sinaloa – an area notorious for gangsters and marijuana harvests – have said they are no longer planting the crop. With legalization in place in the U.S., they’re unable to compete with U.S. growers, especially in terms of quality. RAND Corporation estimates that Mexican cartels earn more than $6 billion per year from drug smuggling to the U.S.
“[If California exports its newly legal, high-quality, low-cost product to other states], it could undercut sales of Mexican marijuana in much of the U.S., cutting [cartel] marijuana export revenues by more than 65% and probably by 85% or more,” read a report by RAND Corporation. “In this scenario, the [cartels] would lose approximately 20% of their total drug export revenue.”
At the same time, University of Texas Dallas researchers found that legalized marijuana didn’t increase crime rates in the U.S. In fact, legalization may reduce some violent crimes, including homicide and assault. The study looked at crime rates for all 50 states between 1990 and 2006, as well as the 11 states that legalized medical marijuana during that time period.
“After controlling for a host of known factors related to changes in crime rates, we found no evidence of increases in any of these crimes for states after legalizing marijuana for medical use,” said Robert Morris, the study’s lead author, in a recent report on the Huffington Post. “In fact, for some forms of violence we found partial support for declines after passing of this legislation.”
And finally, as if crime wasn’t a big enough factor in the decision, the added employment and tax revenue from domestic marijuana cultivation is perhaps the final nail in the coffin.
http://www.cannabisfn.com/growing-marijuana-i...o-cartels/
(0)
(0)