The cartels have been operating grow operations in CO and the other southwestern states since long before legalization. CO collected $135M in marijuana taxes in 2015. CA collects around $1B/yr in medical mj taxes. That’s over a billion dollars out of the pockets of the cartels.
Hooray!
Correct! The groves operated by the Mexican drug cartels!
That the dispensaries pay taxes on the pot they sell does not mean the money came out of the cartels' pockets.
At least this system is more honest.
The government never really wanted to “win the drug war.” It was way too much of a cash cow in Kabuki theater efforts to fight it, which if too effective would have been self defeating.
Better to let it be a cash cow via taxes. And more of this can go to rehab than in the other way.
So having the states make a profit from a bunch of stoners is a good thing? Makes very little sense.