Despite the claims by many anti-marijuana activists that legalization leads to more crime, we all know the opposite is true. In fact, even the Mexican cartels would be willing to back up that argument.

USA Today recently ran a story about how Mexican cartels are decreasing production of marijuana in response to legalized states in America. It's a simple economic equation for the cartels. Legalized states have producers and dispensaries where people can buy marijuana without the risk of breaking the law. Therefore the demand for cartel cannabis has decreased. And with California, a state with one-eighth the total population of the United States, legalizing the drug, the demand for cartel marijuana isn't worth putting their resources into anymore.

This doesn't mean cartels aren't going away. In fact, 2017 saw the most homicides in Mexico ever. But cartels have changed their focus to a new drug with tons of demand in the United States: heroin.

Spurred by the opioid crisis in America, farmers who grew marijuana in the past are now switching to opium to help push heroin in the United States.

Legalizing marijuana across the United States would probably be the most effective way to combat the Mexican cartels. They would no longer be able to push cannabis into America, and studies have shown that states with legalized marijuana have smaller rates of opioid abuse. So if we pushed cannabis legalization nationwide, it would severely undercut the power of Mexican cartels.

Good luck convincing the Trump administration.

(h/t USA Today)