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drug user != drug addict. To continue down the thread of logic, any alcohol user is a 'victim(s) of their own poor choices' as well. I say make it all legal, a

drug user != drug addict. To continue down the thread of logic, any alcohol user is a 'victim(s) of their own poor choices' as well. I say make it all legal, and tax it proportionate to the cost of running enough rehabilitation centers nationally that any American can get treatment if they so wish (and include alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs under that same mandate). This is really a problem that solves itself.

ythl 10y ago
> I say make it legal, and tax it proportionate to the cost of running enough rehabilitation centers nationally that any American can get treatment if they so wish. Seems like a pipe dream. Tax the drugs too much and you'll just create a black market and/or encourage addicts to commit crimes to obtain the drug. Tax it too little and it won't cover the costs of rehab.
- cmdrfred 10y ago
  I think a 15% tax on alcohol($90 billion/year), oxycontin($14 billion/year) and cigarettes($35 billion/year) alone would cover it.
- onetwotree 10y ago
  There's no black market for cigarettes or alcohol though. Tax heroin at 50% and it'll still be cheaper than it is on the street. The fact that these goods are cheap to produce but highly inelastic means that the government can make a killing taxing them without introducing a black market.
  - narrowrail 10y ago
    >There's no black market for cigarettes Are you sure about that? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/25/why-the-massive-black-market-trade-in-cigarettes-affects-you-even-if-you-dont-smoke/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/25/why-t... "In New York, a Black Market For Illegal Cigarettes Thrives" http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1040938577857473793 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1040938577857473793
new_hackers 10y ago
This. It is interesting that most of this is just perception. It's "cool" to go out for drinks. It's "manly" to have a beer after work. It's "sexy" to drink wine. I think that the binary demarcation between "normal" vs "addict" is naive at best. It is all a sliding scale. People can have compulsion problems with anything, most of which can become unhealthy. At the end of the day, if my 85 yo granny wants to do some heroin a couple times a year, then whatever. Its probably no worse than the prescription pills she takes everyday.

ythl 10y ago

> I say make it legal, and tax it proportionate to the cost of running enough rehabilitation centers nationally that any American can get treatment if they so wish. Seems like a pipe dream. Tax the drugs too much and you'll just create a black market and/or encourage addicts to commit crimes to obtain the drug. Tax it too little and it won't cover the costs of rehab.

cmdrfred 10y ago
I think a 15% tax on alcohol($90 billion/year), oxycontin($14 billion/year) and cigarettes($35 billion/year) alone would cover it.
onetwotree 10y ago
There's no black market for cigarettes or alcohol though. Tax heroin at 50% and it'll still be cheaper than it is on the street. The fact that these goods are cheap to produce but highly inelastic means that the government can make a killing taxing them without introducing a black market.
- narrowrail 10y ago
  >There's no black market for cigarettes Are you sure about that? https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/25/why-the-massive-black-market-trade-in-cigarettes-affects-you-even-if-you-dont-smoke/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/06/25/why-t... "In New York, a Black Market For Illegal Cigarettes Thrives" http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1040938577857473793 http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB1040938577857473793

new_hackers 10y ago

This. It is interesting that most of this is just perception. It's "cool" to go out for drinks. It's "manly" to have a beer after work. It's "sexy" to drink wine. I think that the binary demarcation between "normal" vs "addict" is naive at best. It is all a sliding scale. People can have compulsion problems with anything, most of which can become unhealthy. At the end of the day, if my 85 yo granny wants to do some heroin a couple times a year, then whatever. Its probably no worse than the prescription pills she takes everyday.