Photo Credit: Huffington Post
The recent wave of marijuana legalization, headed by pioneering western states such as Oregon and Washington, has sparked fear in the hearts of millions. These are not your typical conservative pundits blasting misinformation and outright lies on cable news stations, or the average Midwestern mom concerned with the future of her children. These are hardened policy analysts and public officials with their heads fixed firmly between their shoulder bones. The scariest thing is that they have a very, very good reason to be afraid.
The fear is not so much of marijuana itself, per say, but of the blowback that legalization is causing in major drug trafficking hubs such as Los Angeles. Law enforcement and community officials have not been this frightened about the future of narcotics in America since the crack boom of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Ever since the virtual legalization of marijuana across the west coast, Mexican cartels have switched their standard drug currency – weed – to a much more sinister cash: methamphetamines.
So what’s the big deal? Meth has been around for decades, hanging its dirty hat in biker bars and truck stops since Kool Aid has been cool. Just like every other hard drug, the meth market has experienced its fair share of ups and downs, garnering a lot of media attention as the “new” devil drug of the 21st century. For the most part, meth has been no worse than crack or heroin by many drug enforcement standards. The current problem facing America isn’t a chemical one however: it’s all about supply and demand.
Marijuana, particularly on the West Coast, has become legally accessible to the vast majority of people who want it. Instead of dialing a dealer and driving to the dealer’s house to cop some dank, people have been buying their weed in air conditioned shops filled to the brim with edibles, tinctures, oils, and, of course, weed. The Mexican cartels, who once had a monopoly on marijuana, now face a source of unbeatable competition: the actual market. In response, the cartels have devoted every ounce of energy to lowering the price and raising the potency of meth to make it more addictive, cheaper and ultimately more lucrative than before.
The results? Disastrous. Low-level gang bangers who would normally be moving pounds of weed to support the base of their operations are now exclusively carrying meth. This has flooded the streets with harmful drug, causing the price to drop tremendously. In a sense, meth has replaced marijuana as the lowest common denominator in the drug game, all sponsored by the Mexican cartels and precipitated by the legalization of marijuana.
Impoverished black communities with the fewest available resources have been most affected by this new drug trend. Grams of speed are bought and sold in the same way that grams of weed used to be, thanks to the low price, high supply, and lack of high class dispensaries in the ghetto. What’s worse? There doesn’t seem to be a great solution other than to legalize meth, a fight somewhat more dubious and certainly more difficult than the fight for marijuana.