Skip Navigation

The Daily Dish - 2006-2011 archives for The Daily Dish, featuring Andrew Sullivan

How Legal Marijuana Hurts The Gangs

By The Daily Dish
Aug 6 2010, 2:34 AM ET

Marijuana

Scott Morgan spells it out:

We're going to legalize pot, not thuggery. The murderers in Mexico don't possess a single skill that would give them an advantage in a regulated market. Their only asset is a willingness to break the law, and in the unlikely event that they elected to run a legal business instead, they wouldn't be criminals anymore. We will control the regulatory process and there's nothing about marijuana that invites fraud or extortion to any greater extent than every other taxable commodity on the market.



If you're still not getting this, let me put it another way: Mexican drug cartels don't sell marijuana because they're passionate about cannabis culture or botany, or because they love stacking bricks of mid-grade in the back of a pick-up truck. Absolutely the only reason they're in the marijuana business is because we gave them a monopoly on it. When we take that away from them, they will make less money and their organizations will get smaller.
Presented by

More at The Atlantic

We Don't Need a Digital Sabbath, We Need More Time You Don't Need a Break From Technology
The Agony of Nabeel Rajab The Agony of Nabeel Rajab
The Reverent, Ridiculous Grammys The Reverent, Ridiculous Grammys
The Fearlessness of Jeremy Lin The Fearlessness of Jeremy Lin
Government Employs 1 in 6 U.S. Workers—Where Are They? Government Employs 1 in 6 U.S. Workers—Where Are They?
Special Report
The Civil War National Portrait Gallery The Civil War
President Obama reflects on what Lincoln means to him and to America, in an introduction to our special issue. Read more ›

Just In

View All Correspondents

The Biggest Story in Photos

Athens in Flames

Feb 13, 2012

Subscribe Now

SAVE 59%! 10 issues JUST $2.45 PER COPY

Facebook

Newsletters

Sign up to receive our free newsletters

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)

(sample)