Legalizing it, of course means taxing it. As I understand it, cartel weed might well be cheaper than ‘legal’ taxed weed. It might - or it might not, if moderately taxed like alcohol.
And what’s to stop the cartels from dominating the legal market—if nothing else by offering ‘protection’ to the legal weed shops.
By that logic, what’s to stop the cartels from dominating the entire U.S. economy by offering ‘protection’?
“...if moderately taxed like alcohol.”
Have any states been “moderate” in their taxation of legal weed? Illinois, next door to me, is set to make in legal on January 1. They are already moaning and groaning about how most stores haven’t been licensed yet. I honestly think that for most states legalizing, it is the search for more revenue.
“...what’s to stop the cartels from dominating the entire U.S. economy by offering ‘protection’?
They already do in some parts of Mexico. They control almost everything. I wouldn’t be surprised that the little guy selling helados from his bike pushcart is paying tax to a cartel. I read how taxi drivers in Acapulco basically can’t drive without cartel permission.
We do have some history of this in our country with the mob. They didn’t control everything, but they did control a lot and in some neighborhoods, they did control everything.
Closing the border would certainly hamper their business and drone strikes of opportunity might thin the herd and encourage the new cartel bosses to keep their heads down.