5 ms·

The benefit of legalizing marijuana is not to decrease usage but to cut financing to dealers. It is also safer for users, and reduces the risk to exposure to mo

The benefit of legalizing marijuana is not to decrease usage but to cut financing to dealers. It is also safer for users, and reduces the risk to exposure to more dangerous drugs.

loeg 9y ago
Dealers are fine (after all, consumers aren't expected to grow it all themselves); the problem is the flow of money back to the cartels.
- gt_ 9y ago
  Maybe this is nitpicking, but I’d rather see more opportunity for small businesses operating in the honest open than for black market operations. As with a lot of the convo here, the idea is a hollistically better society. Black markets create a lot of tangential issues.
  - loeg 9y ago
    By "dealer" I am referring to a purveyor of drugs. Not specifically legal or illegal. Ideally they would operate legally, but that's currently impossible under federal law.
- pixl97 9y ago
  Legal vs illegal dealers are two different things. A legal dealer/grower is expected to follow certain laws and provide a safe product. In return for a high demand product they have to follow licensing rules and have a safe product. An illegal dealer has the incentive to make as much money as fast as possible because of the risk of future prosecution. It is more beneficial for the illegal dealer to switch you from $100 of weed per month to $2000 worth of heroin per month. It has a much worse health outcome for you, but a better financial outcome for them.
  - loeg 9y ago
    They might have that incentive, but there is a reputation aspect I think you're ignoring. Most illegal marijuana dealers I've met were just interested in selling weed to anyone who wanted to buy it to pay rent, tuition, or support their own use. They operated under fairly low margins for a small business and essentially didn't price in the legal risk. One guy I know only made about $10-12k/yr in profit. None sold heroin, as far as I know.
lb1lf 9y ago
In addition to reducing exposure to more dangerous drugs, it would make harder drugs safer by ensuring they were of known potency and purity - after all, hard drugs distributed illegally are diluted with just about any substance available. While hard drugs will never be good for you as such, we can do a lot to reduce the consequences of taking them by ensuring addicts have access to drugs of farmaceutical quality.

The benefit of legalizing marijuana is not to decrease usage but to cut financing to dealers. It is also safer for users, and reduces the risk to exposure to more dangerous drugs.

loeg 9y ago

Dealers are fine (after all, consumers aren't expected to grow it all themselves); the problem is the flow of money back to the cartels.

gt_ 9y ago
Maybe this is nitpicking, but I’d rather see more opportunity for small businesses operating in the honest open than for black market operations. As with a lot of the convo here, the idea is a hollistically better society. Black markets create a lot of tangential issues.
- loeg 9y ago
  By "dealer" I am referring to a purveyor of drugs. Not specifically legal or illegal. Ideally they would operate legally, but that's currently impossible under federal law.
pixl97 9y ago
Legal vs illegal dealers are two different things. A legal dealer/grower is expected to follow certain laws and provide a safe product. In return for a high demand product they have to follow licensing rules and have a safe product. An illegal dealer has the incentive to make as much money as fast as possible because of the risk of future prosecution. It is more beneficial for the illegal dealer to switch you from $100 of weed per month to $2000 worth of heroin per month. It has a much worse health outcome for you, but a better financial outcome for them.
- loeg 9y ago
  They might have that incentive, but there is a reputation aspect I think you're ignoring. Most illegal marijuana dealers I've met were just interested in selling weed to anyone who wanted to buy it to pay rent, tuition, or support their own use. They operated under fairly low margins for a small business and essentially didn't price in the legal risk. One guy I know only made about $10-12k/yr in profit. None sold heroin, as far as I know.

lb1lf 9y ago

In addition to reducing exposure to more dangerous drugs, it would make harder drugs safer by ensuring they were of known potency and purity - after all, hard drugs distributed illegally are diluted with just about any substance available. While hard drugs will never be good for you as such, we can do a lot to reduce the consequences of taking them by ensuring addicts have access to drugs of farmaceutical quality.