Lest we forget the US government invented the War on Drugs narrative as a political device to divide and conquer. They then used their financial position as leverage after WWII to force the rest of the world to follow suit by threatening sanctions and passing the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs through the UN.

So the reason all that money is going to criminals instead of legitimate businesses is because of the US government.

And I'm not even gonna get started on how the CIA has been involved in drug trafficking over the years...