"WHITEFISH - For years, backpacks crammed with cash have slipped north into Canada, followed closely by hockey bags packed with premium marijuana skating south into Montana.
A favorable exchange rate (not long ago, one American dollar bought one and a half Canadian dollars) made the smuggling profitable, and thus popular.
But last month, for the first time in more than 30 years, the two currencies were at par, matched in value, and today a Canadian dollar buys $1.10 U.S.
The financial tables have turned, and global economics have done what U.S. law enforcement could not: Capitalism has stopped the smugglers in their tracks.
Call it Marijuanomics 101.
America borrows itself deep into the hole, ratchets up its trade deficits, buries itself beneath subprime mortgage debt, devalues its dollar with interest-rate cuts, and the currency plunges.
Meanwhile, Canada's economy booms on oil, foreign investors turn north for stability, and the “Loonie” - Canada's dollar, named for the bird on the coin - hits a 50-year high.
Suddenly, it's far more expensive to buy Canadian exports, legal or otherwise, and smuggling profits disappear."
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