According to an updated Congressional report, demand for illicit marijuana from Mexico continues to drop since cannabis is legal in the U.S. and Canada. Apparently, the international drug trade is shifting as the legalization movement expands.
“Seizures of imported marijuana began to decline in 2019. Authorities are projecting a continued decline in U.S. demand for Mexican marijuana,” the Congressional Research Service (CRS) report said. “This is partially due to legalized medical and nonmedical/recreational cannabis in many U.S. states and Canada, reducing its value as part of Mexican trafficking organizations’ portfolio. Mexico’s Congress is continuing to consider legislation to legalize adult use of cannabis.”
The report stated that a shift in the drug supply is underway, especially in terms of synthetic drugs displacing heroin and cocaine. Although its implications remain unclear. “Some analysts are exploring why violence has continued to rise in rural areas as Mexico’s drug trade moves away from plant-based drugs (e.g., marijuana and opium poppy) to laboratory-made synthetics, with less need to control farmers and land,” the report reads.
