Colorado Slightly On Edge about Fallout from Legalized Marijuana
After Colorado’s first full week of legalized marijuana, some in the state are concerned about the possible backlash from the drug cartels who at one time dominated the previously illegal market.
Experts are warning that two Mexican drug cartels with a heavy presence in Colorado, the Juarez and Sinaloa, are likely to respond to the loss of revenues that they once enjoyed from illegal marijuana sales.
Sonny Jackson, a spokesman for the Denver Police, expressed his department’s concerns about possible cartel backlash. However, those concerns have been dominated by others related to public consumption at the moment.
Albert Villasuso, a spokesman for the Denver Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) office expressed that his agency is not quite sure how the cartels intend to infiltrate the now legal retail business of dispensing marijuana.
There is speculation by the DEA that the cartels will use those without criminal records to open up their own retail marijuana businesses to not only do legal sales but act as a front for other illegal drug trafficking as well.
Then there is always the threat of extortion by these two drug cartels that are known for their violent history. Some store owners are applying for concealed-carry gun permits to defend their interests as well as their lives.
Furthermore, these legal retail marijuana businesses are not able to open regular business banking accounts because of fear by bankers of violating U.S. Federal regulations. As a result, there are huge sums of cash being moved around which makes for increased risk of robbery.
Despite these concerns, marijuana legalization advocates strongly believe that Colorado’s trailblazing legislation is the first step to ending the War on Drugs which has been a most costly undertaking by the U.S. Government over the past few decades.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox has been a long time advocate of marijuana legalization in his country as well. He has characterized the War on Drugs as a “total disaster” and wants it to end so the violence in his country will come to a close as well.
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