The Drug War and Illicit Markets

The toll of the Drug War on families and communities contributed to the formation of illicit markets with large powerful cartels managing grow and distribution operations.  Entrepreneurs who might have otherwise contributed to the economies of cannabis growing regions, instead focused their efforts on illegal distributions channels, hidden and destructive grow operations, and money laundering activities.  Governments trying to enforce the prohibition on cannabis turned to increasingly destructive and violent methods, which in turn led to increasingly violent responses.  To this day, many non-violent offenders, including many persons of color, have criminal records, or still sit in prisons for participating in the cannabis economy under prohibition.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/10/opinion/a-decade-of-failure-in-the-war-on-drugs.html