It's making a gamble that legitimate drug companies operating with their own security forces and the support of the government could out-compete cartels in both

It's making a gamble that legitimate drug companies operating with their own security forces and the support of the government could out-compete cartels in both security and economics. I think it would work absent external pressures. A drug company that can openly operate on the highways and ports, pay for its own helicopters and operate its own militia for security, and call in the police and army at need, has a significant edge over a cartel operating covertly. Unfortunately, a legitimate company would at the very least not have access to the North American market, which would stop it competing with the cartels.