Technology and the Mexican Drug Cartels

When I was younger I had a few friends who dabbled in peddling marijuana. They tried to be cool with me but I kept my distance because I always felt like they were trying something a little too dangerous for my tastes. Having known them for most of my young adult life I recall an instance where one of them asked me for a lift to a job site that we were both traveling to. I agreed and we set out. While he was settling in, he reached into his pocket to find his money and along with it, out came the tiniest baggie I had ever seen. It was the first time I'd ever seen cellophane and in it was a small white clump. I swerved the car over to the side of the road and told him that he was now, officially on foot patrol! Before he got out I told him, "you're too stupid to figure out how to make something like that on your own! Who taught you how to do that?"
Of course he shrugged me off. Since then I've thought about what a growth market illicit drug sales is and how opportunities are provided at even the lowest levels.  According to Inaba and Cohen, the Mexican cartels have taken charge of smuggling and control the lion's share of the trade (Uppers, Downers, All Arounders p.1.29), dethroning even the Colombians and leaving only 45 percent of smuggling priveleges to be divvied up by the rest of the world. This is a quote taken from the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 'Mexican poly-drug trafficking organizations began manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in the mid-1990s. These organizations created "superlabs" in Mexico and southern California that were capable of producing 10 pounds or more of high-purity methamphetamine in 1 to 2 days.' I mean, is it just me, or does someone out there see the growth potential?

References:

Inaba, D.S.; Cohen, W.E. (2013). Uppers, Downers, All Arounders

Nordahl, T.E; Salo, R.; Leamon, M. The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences15.3 (Summer 2003): 317-25.