“WOD” was nothing but the USA backing one cartel to minimize violence over competition.
Drug money is so easy to make and any monkey can do it. Violence (private or state sanctioned) determines who gets to sell.
IMO, that is the whole story
Exactly! The smartest thing I ever heard about the war on drugs, although I cannot recall who said it, is “You do not get to choose if drugs are sold in your community. The only choice you get is who sells them; either the pharmacist or the gangbanger.”