Hard prohibition and violent enforcement is the root cause of this problem. There are no alcohol cartels, but there where when alcohol was illegal.

It drives profits and incentives for violence, and corruption. And once the money is flowing, the system reinforces itself.

Brutalizing populations, spiraling repression - all these policies can do is entrench the problem. It won't be until all drugs are legal and taxed that this problem will go away. And that won't happen because drug trafficking drives huge amounts of money that is essentially tax free.

The drug repression system exists to drive the flow of money outside the purview of the State, not because "drugs are bad hmkay". That is just propaganda. Otherwise, why would alcohol, by far the most harmful drug, be legal?