Originally Posted by timalkin

Marijuana legalization will shrink the illegal drug market. Right now, the market is big enough for the cartels to operate in a more or less civil manner because the pie is big enough for everyone to get a piece. By shrinking the pie, the cartels are going to have to fight each other a lot more to assert dominance and control over the remaining pie. These cartels aren't simply going to disappear just because marijuana is legalized. They are going to escalate their fighting and modify their operations to keep the profits flowing.

If marijuana is legalized, it will be more widely available than it currently is. The dealers aren't going to simply look for legitimate jobs, but instead will target those groups who aren't able to purchase the newly-legalized drugs: children. Dealers will either buy the legalized marijuana from legal sources and sell it to children at a higher price, or grow/smuggle their own and sell it to children at a higher profit.