Might Americans’ growing ability to get stoned without fear of arrest end Mexico’s bloody gangster wars?

The legalization of recreational marijuana approved by voters Tuesday in Washington and Colorado could sap power from vicious smuggling gangs, and undermine the Mexican government’s rationale for pressing on with the drug war, some analysts say.

The impact of the vote hinges on whether the state initiatives survive expected court challenges and continued enforcement of US federal drug laws.

But if they do — and legalization catches a wave across America — Mexico’s narco-traffickers could lose up to 30 percent of the estimated $6.5 billion they earn annually from smuggling drugs, according to a study by the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness, a private think tank.

via Marijuana legalization: They answer to ending the drug war in Mexico? | Alaska Dispatch.