Is less marijuana entering the US from Mexico today than in years past? According to newly released data provided by the US Border Patrol, the answer may be ‘yes.’
Federal statistics reveal that law enforcement seized an estimated 1.5 million pounds of marijuana at the US/Mexico border in 2015. That total is the lowest amount reported in a decade and continues a steady year-by-year decline in seizure volume that began in 2009, when nearly 4 million pounds of cannabis were confiscated.
Overall, 99.8 percent of all marijuana seized by federal border patrol agents was seized at the southern border.
It has been previously reported that increases in US marijuana production, particularly the rise of state-authorized commercial growing in jurisdictions like Colorado, has significantly undercut US demand for Mexican-grown cannabis, which is typically presumed to be of lesser quality.
This is just one more good sign of the changes that are happening.
Less profit for criminal gangs. YAY!
I live in Central Texas and I don’t know anyone who still gets their supply from the moldy bricks comin up from Mexico. It’s all comin from Colorado or maybe some home grown. Why would anyone pay for some dirt weed again when we can get some pesticide free, excellent marijuana from right here in the U.S.?
The fact that supplies are dwindling from the illegal trade south of the border is not as surprising as Mexico’s federal courts allowing medicinal marijuana to certain families whose children have epilepsy.
What would amaze me is if Pin-head Nieto, President of Mexico, sends an envoy to support drug policy reform to the UN for the UNGASS meeting this April that’s about to flip international drug policy on its @$$.
I wish I could find the resources to be there for THAT meeting.
re; Mexican-grown cannabis, which is ‘typically presumed’ to be of lesser quality…
it absolutely IS, ‘of lesser quality’.
4 million tons, (8,000 million pounds) versus 1.5 million pounds, means they sold OVER 5,000 times as much, previously.
if the mexicans want to keep making $$$$$$ here,
they need to buy some top quality genetics (seeds) from canada or holland,
and undercut the price we pay for top quality weed here.
(and LOWER the price for he low end crap weed, too)
the low quality crap they grow, and sell,
just does not compete well here,
because we have had much better quality, locally grown,
fresh,
top quality,
green,
delicious,
MEDICALLY EFFICATIOUS,
weed.
and we will not settle for the dry, brown, seedy, flavorless crap, any more.
(except for the people who cannot afford anything else.)
one BOWL of the top quality weed,
is a better high,
and a better deal,
than two fat joints of the dry, brown, crap.
PLEASE, PLEASE, PRETTY PLEASE,
step up your game, mexico !!
help bring down the price of the top quality weed !!
you certainly DO NOT see any of the dry,
brown,
seedy,
low quality,
flavorless,
often SPIKED with ‘spice’,
mexican crap weed,
in the medical marijuana dispensories,
do you ???
hell no !!
It seems to me that, in general, federal agents seizing marijuana in any amount is a bad thing.
And so, while it may be true that seizing less may be better than seizing more, this isn’t necessarily good news. The goal should be to stop the seizures altogether, and allow people to move freely, even if they have marijuana.
There’s no “bad” pot, really. Let us welcome some quality mexican mota. The War On Drugs cannot morph into a jobs protection racket for the newly emerging cannabis industry — that would be evil and profoundly hypocritcal!
It’s not good for mexican farmers that they’re seizing less. And we’ve got nothing against mexican farmers, do we?
All marijuana seizures must stop. We can import mexican mota the same way we import mexican mangos, or whatever.
Has there been a marked decreased in the violence in Mexico that is caused by prohibition? Mexican lives matter, too.
Are fewer weapons flowing from the U.S. into Mexico then?
It is a shame that Mexico hasn’t followed the U.S. states that have legalized so that the poor farmers and campesinos can keep growing cannabis and don’t have to switch to growing opium poppies. It certainly must be much cheaper to grow the famed Mexican sativa strains outdoors: Oaxacan, Acapulco Gold, their Lemon Haze and others.
We all pretty much knew this would be the outcome if mj was legalized. Our hard headed Prohibitionist politicians are the ones who still won’t admit they were wrong.
Mr. Armentano: “4 million tons” should be changed to “4 million pounds.” Still, quite the dramatic decline in only a few short years!
[Paul Armentano responds: Thank you for pointing out this typo. It has been corrected.]
It’s probably due to the increase of heroin being brought into the US. The money isn’t there for marijuana like it used to be.
How much are they growing in Mexico ? Has that figure fallen ?
If not then I would suggest that it is all coming over the border as oil (dabs are very popular now). It is so easy to mix oil so why not use a little Mexican to dilute the stuff produced in the US to increase profits. Obviously there is no proof yet but I am sure it must go on.
It really bothers me that the 2 presidential front runners are both prohibitionists. I really wish that Hilary would concede that more study regarding legalization is not necessary. Someone should ask her which hurts our society more: Laws that damage more than half a million lives per year, or simply letting the people have their way and legalize it.
I promise you that getting busted hurts both society and the individual a great deal more than just allowing it’s usage/sale.
Another prohibitionist bites the dust. Nancy Reagan died at age 94. I think she meant well but she was just ignorant about the kind of damage her, and her husbands anti-drug policies caused.
I can’t say the same about Michelle Leonhart; she is just an evil bitch! I will celebrate the day I learn she is no longer among the living.
As laws are more and more laid back, and or some States have even legalized for recreational purposes, more and more weed is grown here. No need to sneak it across and boarder, if it was grown here in the US.
And if our weed is better than theirs, we’ll of course buy less of their weed.
It’ll be a number of 5 years or less, it’ll be legal in all 50 states. At least that is my opinion. I don’t believe if it’s more then 5 years, it’ll be too much longer then that.
Once Medical can get established in the Southern US we will free our people and our plants.
I haven’t seen Mexican brick dirt in over a year. I’m so thankful for the good and the best part is the weed these days is mold free. legalization is winning the War on Drugs people… Together Lets Make America Stoned Again!
Mexican MJ can be quite good; depends on area!
I agree, there are great strains from Mexico, and tropical areas where you can find iguanas and Monkeys as far north as the southern border of Zacatecas and Jalisco. That’s only an 8 hour drive from the Texas border!
The problem is that until there is an international established trade agreement to import and export marijuana between Mexico and the United States, all we’re going to get is unregulated, unclean and unsafe bricks of pesticide developed for quick profit and concealed transportation.
Mexico’s Federal courts are open to the idea of medicinal marijuana, but with the cartels and US “AID” manipulating the government of Mexico, the only proposal that might come up at the UNGASS meeting this April is to allow Mexico to import medicinal marijuana.
But that is a big step in International drug policy alone. If Mexico gets what they want; By simply allowing legal export of marijuana from the United States, several archaic drug treaties will have to be torn down and rewritten.
This is where the revenue from the legal marijuana market will break down the borders and some of the most tyrannical international drug policies ever
the reason Mexico does not “legalize marijuana” is because the United States does not; other nations tend to follow US Policy.
Best hope is to reschedule before 2017. “puff”
Profit-taking from cannabis is trying to keep the price up while the safe access increases. Removing cannabis from the schedule would place its immoral, immedical, and immediate needs upon the light of truth and not the darkness of propaganda and the restrictions of prohibition.
The reason marijuana busts are low, is because, all the growers, are now in the USA. Migrants are working in packing plants in Nebraska, or picking lettuce in california. They’re growing weed, in the USA.
Its like that joke goes..”Why doesnt mexico have a olympic track and field team?” “Because anyone that can run, jump, or swim; is already in the USA!”
Have a green day!
~jamie
Oregon now has a SALES TAX, on one item only…recreational marijuana. Its a 25% tax. Beer…no tax.