Posted on 01/11/2014 12:49:10 PM PST by Brad from Tennessee
As the smoke settles from the first week of legal marijuana sales in Colorado, experts are warning that sanctioned pot dealers could become targets for the very folks they put out of business.
Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. One veteran border narcotics agent told FoxNews.com Colorado's legal pot industry will find it hard to keep the criminals from horning in on a lucrative business they once controlled.
"Mexico is already in Colorado without the risks," the agent, who requested anonymity, said of the state's heavy pre-existing cartel presence. "Legal businesses will likely see a rise in extortion attempts while law enforcement will see a lot of backdoor deals being made."
Cartels, especially the Juarez and Sinaloa, who have a strong presence in Colorado, could not have been happy with the estimated $1 million in sales Jan. 1, the first day of legalized retail sales. In 2012 the Mexican Competitiveness Institute issued a report saying that Mexico’s cartels would lose as much as $1.425 billion if Colorado legalized marijuana. The organization also predicted that drug trafficking revenues would fall 20 to 30 percent, and the Sinaloa cartel, which would be the most affected, would lose up to 50 percent. . .
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Who is selling pot at $400 per pound? Where did you read that? The Mexicans are not selling their pot at $400 a pound.
Where did you read that?
Didn't read it, got it from the Mexis that were busted.
I believe weed is a gateway drug and does lead to bigger and badder,it also creates a lot of lazy laid back bums,we have our share down here.
All in all its bad for the country,IMHO.
Legalizing pot is akin to giving a billion bucks to Iran all over again. Its something the regime can do out in the open that will incrementally take the nation down,this is what they are all about and we are doing dam little to stop it.
Local growers start cutting into gangster business.
Gangsters attack local growers.
Gangsters win.
That’s very likely since the govt. is tied to the gangstas. But I stil see weed wars on the horizon. There’s just too much money floating around there.People hate paying huge taxes as they will be paying on weed. It will be tempting to buy the illegal stuff and libs will love it with a sort of cheech and chong mentality.
Its a typical axelrod con.
If peopel buy weed legally the corrupt governments benefit fromhuge taxation. If they buy weed through illegal sources the corrupt govt. benefits. Its obamcare all over again they can’t lose.
Sounds like a great series can come of this!
Taxes won’t be the only issue. Trial lawyers will go after Big Marijuana like they went after Big Tobacco.
We’ll still be jailing people for buying and selling marijuana without paying taxes on it.
Same exact things were said of legalizing alcohol. Are you then for criminalizing booze too?
The majority of pot retailers are their own growers. The idea that ‘gangsters’ will intrude is about as likely as that happening in any other business including booze.
Except booze is expensive to make, income is very small and risks are really great.
If moonshine’s price was $200-400 a bottle, we’d have a really big problem with it.
If you mean big ‘legal” marijuana as long as they are paying out mega bucks intaxes locally statewide and federally they will have a bit of insulation.
Not at all.
When you drive drunk the cops pull you over and give you a test that has acceptance by most people. They can measure abuse. Harder to do with weed.
Also there are those that suggest weed can be a gateway drug and there are lots of examples to suport that thinking.
Its hard to compare weed to booze.Different animals.
Like tobacco? Once again, much less profit.
Plus cigarettes are a big black market item, even at a tinier profit. Marijuana would have to drop to $50 an oz to take away the incentive. When it was $30 an oz, there weren’t many problems.
Taking over a trade once ruled by drug cartels and turning it into an all-cash business could make pot shops prime targets for extortion, black-market competition and robbery. One veteran border narcotics agent told FoxNews.com Colorado’s legal pot industry will find it hard to keep the criminals from horning in on a lucrative business they once controlled.
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No Obama, Sherlock.
I’ve long said that legal marijuana will only add to our problems. There used to be a pro-dope troll (Just say no to Nannies) who would argue for days and days that pot should be legal.
I would ask him if he thought a trillion dollar industry (illegal cartels) would simply go away if drugs were legalized. Naturally he would not answer.
So you think the criminal drug dealers are going to stand for legal pot that without a fight? That is the loss of an entire state’s revenue for them.
What are the cartels waiting for?
They are there aren’t they? Still making money. When an entire state hits the cartel’s bottom line then they will react. It might not be right away but when they lose billions, it’s not going to set well with them.
They're losing a billion a year in CA, $200M/yr in CO and similar amounts (proportionally) in the 20 states and DC that have legalized it. The cartels have done virtually zip about it.
If you're wishing for the cartels to shut down the program - and you certainly seem to be - you're going to be disappointed. Voters in CO and WA (with more to follow) told drug warriors to get stuffed. Deal with it.
Call me an agnostic on this topic as far as Colorado is concerned. I am just stating from local experience, drug organizations don’t like it when they lose money. They also aren’t likely to just sit around. They will either figure out how to play in the marketplace or crush it. The odds of them just giving up and going away is highly unlikely.
You’re going to be disappointed.
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