Mexican Drug Cartels Flush With Proceeds From Medical Marijuana States

Border seizures of the cash crop jumped 44% between 2005 and 2009, and cartels now derive as much as 26% of their profit from the drug.

February 20, 2011

The legalization of medical marijuana has barely dented the profits of Mexican drug cartels, who continue to reap billions on this cash crop, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Sales of Mexican marijuana earns that nation's violent drug cartels as much as $2 billion a year, as California and 14 other states build soft-legal marijuana infrastructure with medical marijuana dispensaries. Arizona and New Jersey approved medical marijuana in 2010.

Border seizures of the cash crop jumped 44% between 2005 and 2009, and cartels now derive as much as 26% of their profit from the drug.

Read the full story at SFGate.com.

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