Right. The cartels shifted heavily to ecstasy and methamphetamine. Some heroin too, though they can't beat the Chinese on price per dose compared to fentanyl and carfentanil. Sure many members of these cartels will be loathe to take mundane jobs but what other choice will they have? The profit margin of legal recreational drugs will be driven down somewhere to the area of alcohol and tobacco.

I disagree with your perceived loss of justice should drug use be legalized. Laws exist to protect people. Drug laws have only served to hurt nearly every person on earth when considering supply chain and tangential effects. By opening up the law to allow people to self medicate we are actually reducing harm at every step from the companies producing raw materials to the end users. To only consider a solution that outlaws the existence of an addict is inhumane, immoral, impossible, and outright delusional. To learn more about these topics and hopefully gain some empathy for addicts I suggest reading Gabor Matès "In the realm of hungry ghosts."

https://barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-realm-of-hungry-ghosts-g...