Mexico, Latin America plagued by distributors of marijuana is key to Mexico’s drug war

How Colorado and Washington could end Mexico’s drug war

GlobalPost | Democracy, elections and voting at Democracy Chronicles

Tuesday’s marijuana legalization votes could spark a movement that stems a key revenue stream for drug cartels. Dudley Althaus MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Might Americans’ growing ability to get stoned without fear of arrest end Mexico’s bloody gangster wars? The legalization of recreational marijuana.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Might Americans’ growing ability to get stoned without fear of arrest end Mexico’s bloody gangster wars?

The legalization of recreational marijuana approved by voters Tuesday in Washington and Colorado could sap power from vicious smuggling gangs, and undermine the Mexican government’s rationale for pressing on with the drug war, some analysts say.

The impact of the vote hinges on whether the state initiatives survive expected court challenges and continued enforcement of US federal drug laws.

But if they do — and legalization catches a wave across America — Mexico’s narco-traffickers could lose up to 30 percent of the estimated $6.5 billion they earn annually from smuggling drugs, according to a study by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, a private think tank.

“We don’t know how this is going to end, but we do believe that something big can happen,” contends Alejandro Hope, author of the study and a former senior crime analyst with Mexico’s equivalent of the CIA. “The mere possibility is enough to continue closing following the election results and what comes afterward.”

At least initially, US federal officials’ reaction to the legalization vote is unlikely to be friendly. President Barack Obama’s administration so far has rejected calls from across Latin America — including from former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil — for drug decriminalization as a means to crimp cartel profits and stop the gangland violence.

“It’s worth discussing, but there is no way the Obama-Biden administration will change its policy,” Vice President Joe Biden said in a March visit to Mexico City. Apart from Congressional opposition to a policy shift, the US is party to international treaties that require drug enforcement.