Mexico is now importing US marijuana

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/08/08/mexico-marijuana-american-border/

Since the beginning of the War on Drugs, cartels have been portrayed as the “bad guys”, the villains of history. The illegal transport of cocaine from Colombia initially sparked a bloody US government-sponsored war that lasted several years.

Then, when the Mexican cartels came to power, the drug war postponed again, and 2006 ushered in one of the bloodiest periods in Mexican history. The “Merida Initiative” would put the Mexican armed forces under the leadership of the USA against drug cartels.

This resulted in hundreds of thousands of people either dying or missing, and the death toll has been a constant factor ever since.

And why did the US sponsor these wars? Because they wanted to “stop the flow of drugs to the USA”. At least this is the narrative that is being sold to consumers in the United States.

Now, with 33 states in the US having some sort of marijuana program on the books, it’s safe to say that all of the state sponsored propaganda was only there to fuel the opposition. Drugs won the war on drugs and with that we see something that drug warriors have been dreaming of since the drug war began.

The flow of drugs has been reversed – at least when it comes to cannabis.

American products in Mexico sell at premium prices

You’d think Americans had exclusivity on the latest cannabis products sold in pharmacies across the United States – but you’d be wrong.

Virtually anything you can get in the US can be consumed in Mexico, albeit at a premium price. Many vendors have illegally imported vapes, designer strains, infused edibles and other products into the US where the price per product is skyrocketing.

Depending on the strain, you can spend up to $ 500 per ounce of premium buds. Of course the fools who buy this are doing it for their ego and deserve to pay such a high price.

But not only the “rich” buy these high-end products. The average consumer has changed their weed buying behavior in Mexico.

Today, a typical ounce of “decent stuff” – which might still contain some seeds – can cost you anywhere from $ 45 to $ 75 an ounce. You can still find “Regular Street Weed” for $ 10 an ounce, but most people choose against this option because it is essentially hemp smoking.

Mexicans are eager to create their own brand names

There was a time in US history when Acapulco Gold and Verde Limon were varieties that were touted as “premium bud” by Americans. But then in the 1970s, California growers started playing around with genetics, importing strains from different parts of the world and starting their extensive hybridization.

Over time, some of the world’s most famous strains emerged, and California became known for its high-end strains.

As weed became more accessible in the States, more and more strains dominated pop culture, and Mexican strains soon lost their fondness. People would much rather spend per gram of premium bud than per ounce of regular street grass.

However, that benefit will only last as long as Mexico blocks its legal cannabis regime. Once brands can legally grow cannabis in Mexico, there will be a whole counterculture ready to grow and create their own strains.

It will be some time yet, but Mexico has the potential to become a serious competitor for premium strains again.

Mexico has many growing advantages

Besides having cheap labor, Mexican breeders have learned a lot from US breeders. It’s true that the majority of weed shipped to the U.S. comes from cartel breeders – who don’t give a shit about separating males from females.

The Mexican home grower cultivates cannabis more to US standards, and some of them have collected rural tribes from Mexico and are creating their own strains.

Nothing can be done with these strains right now, as cannabis still can’t be legally sold and strains can’t be intellectual property – not yet.

However, if the law changes, not only will you see these home growers pop up, but promising business people will invest in developing their own strains as well.

Another advantage Mexico has over the US is the weather. Some places in Mexico are known as “Eternal Spring,” and with volcanic activity in central Mexico, the soil is similar to that of California.

As soon as American strains are crossed with Mexican land strains, we’ll begin to see new varieties popping up south of the border.

It is difficult to say whether they will become as popular as Mexican varieties once were – probably not. But we can imagine seeing Mexican-bred strains in U.S. pharmacies once trade between the two nations is established.

How Prohibition Makes Profits

It’s interesting to analyze the modern trends in the cannabis trade – especially how the trade reversed when Mexico became a leader in prohibition.

Prohibitions create artificial scarcity, and from scarcity those willing to break the rules can make substantial profits.

However, the moment you allow the free market to take control of substances like cannabis and probably all other drugs, you see that the consumer is making choices based on quality, not quantity.

People can still buy cheap Mexican weed on the street, but if you’d rather spend $ 10 on a gram of thick weed – people prefer the latter.

Prohibition failed where legalization was successful – it stopped the flow of cannabis from Mexico to the US.

Perhaps we could just allow adults to consume what they want – the world drug market would be self-regulating.

We see exactly this scenario in places like Colorado and Washington, two of the pioneering states in legalizing cannabis.

Of course, legalization won’t solve all of the ills the drug war has caused – but it certainly takes power out of the hands of the cartels and brings them into public possession.

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