Is The Legal Marijuana Industry Doing What The Drug War Couldn’t?

Over the last few years the United States has loosened its Marijuana Laws in many states, and there are significantly more grow operations (medical and recreational) in the country. Some of the states with the biggest involvement in the Cannabis Industry are Washington, Colorado, Oregon, Alaska, and of course California (on the medical side: as of now).

All of this extra marijuana production within the United States has been doing one KEY thing that a decades-long war on drugs couldn’t achieve, and that is taking a significant cut out of Mexican drug cartel’s profits. The latest data from the U.S. Border Patrol shows that marijuana seizures along the southwest border of the United States have fallen to their lowest level in at least ten years. In 2015 the U.S. Border Patrol seized about 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the southwest border, which is significantly lower than the peak of roughly 4 million pounds that were seized in 2009.

The data strongly supports that it is becoming more and more difficult for Mexican marijuana growers to keep up with the competition that is emerging in the United States. The marijuana price has fallen a significant amount at the bulk level, and a Mexican grower recently stated that “two or three years ago, a kilogram [2.2 pounds] of marijuana was worth $60 to $90, but now they’re paying us $30 to $40 a kilo. It’s a big difference. If the U.S. continues to legalize pot, they’ll run us into the ground” (NPR NEWS).

Its not just the current market price that the Mexican growers are struggling to keep up with, but they are also facing a ton of pressure on the quality of their marijuana. In the 2015 National Drug Threat Assessment, the DEA stated that “the quality of marijuana produced in Mexico and the Caribbean is thought to be inferior to the marijuana produced domestically in the United States or in Canada.” Mexican cartels are trying hard to produce better quality marijuana to keep up with the U.S. demand, but they are definitely struggling at this and the data speaks for itself. (The west-coast growers in the U.S. are just too good at what they do!)

In conclusion, times are changing and the marijuana industry south of the border is changing right along with it. The DEA recently even found evidence of illegal marijuana produced in the U.S. being smuggled into Mexico! Now how is that for a change?

(Check out our “All States” page in order to find the current marijuana laws by state in the U.S.)

(Book a tour with us today to learn more about the legal cannabis industry in Seattle!)