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Profit margins should be expected to be proportionate to illegality : Since the threat of punishment forces vibrant competition out of the market. Similarly, o
by mdda 15y ago
Profit margins should be expected to be proportionate to illegality : Since the threat of punishment forces vibrant competition out of the market.
Similarly, one can track the effectiveness of the war on drugs by looking at the street prices of drugs over time. If the war was effective, prices would be rising. Unfortunately, basic economic theory shows that the war on drugs is a complete failure.
- sliverstorm 15y agoYou seem to think drugs are the only things sold on the black market.
- dylangs1030 15y agoRight. And like I said, it might be a fiscal improvement to legalize drugs. You could earn money from it. But, and i mean this in all sincerity, do you want to live in a society where they're freely accessible?
- munin 15y agoIt's entirely possible that you do already live in such a society
- robotresearcher 15y agoIn Portugal society didn't go to hell when they decriminalized many drugs. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.ht... Please realize that drugs are very accessible right now.
- gsmaverick 15y agoWhy should they be illegal? Why should any government regulate what you can and cannot put in your body? For the record, yes I would rather live in a society where drugs were freely accessible.
- r0s 15y agoI absolutely would, I live in a society where guns are freely available. What's the difference? We have to assume reasonable personal responsibility. What's the alternative?
- knieveltech 15y agoIf you live anywhere in North America, you're already living in a society where they're freely accessible, so in that respect prohibition has clearly failed. I understand we've all been propagandized to believe that drug use is inherently evil, however it's a mistake to lose site of the fact that (at least in the US) the prison system is largely a subcontracted for-profit industry. An industry with a clearly vested interest in maintaining soaring drug-related conviction rates as well as mandatory minimum sentencing. I, for one, would absolutely prefer to live in a society where drug dependency is treated like a disease and treated.
- dylangs1030 15y agoI agree that rehabilitation is more important that penalization for drug abuse, but towards the original point, drugs aren't accessible in the sense that they're not legal. You cannot get them as easily as you can a gallon of milk.
- knieveltech 15y ago"you can't get them as easily as you can a gallon of milk." I would have to say that's entirely dependent upon who you socialize with, the time of day, and to some extent your age. I can absolutely think of situations I've been in where scoring involved a lot less effort than acquiring a gallon of milk. See also: dorm life.
- epicureanideal 15y agoYou're right, I cannot call the milkman to open up the store and let me buy some milk at 3am, or better yet get milk delivered to my door with less than a 30 minute lag time.