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Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

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Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#141

Post by spraak »

IgorPartola wrote: post #128
spraak wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what would be more fitting, but "democratic" seems like thewrong word here. I understand what you mean, though. The easiest drug to make yourself is probably alcohol e.g. people making their own in prison.

Alcohol actually seems kind of hard to make. I did some beer brewing and it’s a process. Fermentation takes a long time, contamination could make it super foul, etc. As far as the word choice, you are probably right. It’s probsbly better to say “most easily accessible to the DIY community” :)

I think it takes practice for sure, but in terms of necessary equipment and ingredients, it's the simplest. Any sugary water (fruit juice) is enough. And can be done in very small spaces, like in prison like I'd mentioned

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#142

Post by derekp7 »

Cogito wrote: post #133
derekp7 wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would that result in a higher price for food (something everyone needs to survive), and end up hurting more people than it helps?

A thesis I've been hearing a lot about recently goes something like the following. It doesn't speak directly to subsidising food production costs, but is related to the same idea - what is wrong with cheap and plentiful food? Here is the thesis: ---- Ongoing food and clothing donations to countries in need cause more harm than good. While short term donations are able to help bridge emergency situations, such as afte…

Ah, so that's sort of like what I've always heard about using bird feeders -- that the birds will get dependant on it, and if you stop filling them, a lot of birds will die off.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#144

Post by azzhohle »

ams6110 wrote: post #134
Gibbon1 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing generally about pot and other drugs is, pot dealers generally do not traffic other drugs. One reason is the supply networks are different. With pot dealers usually deal with growers or a middle man directly. High level of trust, makes the business generally safe. Other drugs you end up tapping into a deep network filled with really shady people. High chance of being ratted on, robbed, etc. Even for those dealer…

According to my kids, the kids selling weed at high school are also selling meth, acid, xanax, DMT, shrooms, etc.

Weed and psychedelics go together as far as usage culture is considered. Meth is the outlier on your list.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#145

Post by flycaliguy »

ams6110 wrote: post #134
Gibbon1 wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thing generally about pot and other drugs is, pot dealers generally do not traffic other drugs. One reason is the supply networks are different. With pot dealers usually deal with growers or a middle man directly. High level of trust, makes the business generally safe. Other drugs you end up tapping into a deep network filled with really shady people. High chance of being ratted on, robbed, etc. Even for those dealer…

According to my kids, the kids selling weed at high school are also selling meth, acid, xanax, DMT, shrooms, etc.

High School is also a unique market place with very low sales. You can offer a large variety of products when one bottle from your mom’s prescription is all you need to stock a product.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#146

Post by adrianratnapala »

tomrod wrote: post #10

The "Drug Trafficking Organizations" are the cartels. It is important to remember they don't exist to traffic drugs, they exist for the top leader(s) to obtain and maintain power, like a state-in-waiting. As other activities become more profitable, they switch over to those. Marijuana loses its profitability, they can switch to other drugs, guns, smuggling, "coyotes", or legitimate enterprise. This is what unfettered…

Please note that your "unfettered capitalism", divorced from morality exists here only in the context of a moralistic, outright ban on trade. So lets fight that daemon capitalism by freeing trade!

If these marijuana results show that reducing prohibition removes a revenue stream from the crime lords, then we can expect ending prohibition will hit them even harder. Perhaps enough to relly reduce lawlessness in Mexico as well as the US.

It's tautologically true that organised criminals will always do criminal work is profitable; but they gangs can be small or large, powerful or weak. It seems they are powerful in Mexico because prohibition cedes most of the US drug market to them.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#147

Post by conanbatt »

tomrod wrote: post #10

The "Drug Trafficking Organizations" are the cartels. It is important to remember they don't exist to traffic drugs, they exist for the top leader(s) to obtain and maintain power, like a state-in-waiting. As other activities become more profitable, they switch over to those. Marijuana loses its profitability, they can switch to other drugs, guns, smuggling, "coyotes", or legitimate enterprise. This is what unfettered…

Akin to saying Blockbuster doesnt need VHS, they can diversify into media..

If they lose half their income they lose more than half their power. I have no doubt that economics is the fastest way to reduce drug trafficking.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#148

Post by conanbatt »

ttul wrote: post #72

Why doesn't Mexico just legalize heroin and cocaine distribution? Wouldn't this put an end to the cartels?

It would still be a problem, because its illegal in the US, where the market is. The U.S. having it illegal actually does a lot of damage to drug producing countries.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#149

Post by dragonwriter »

ttul wrote: post #72

Why doesn't Mexico just legalize heroin and cocaine distribution? Wouldn't this put an end to the cartels?

> Why doesn't Mexico just legalize heroin and cocaine distribution?

Well, aside from treaty obligations and public opinion, because...

> Wouldn't this put an end to the cartels?

Maybe, and the cartels own a lot of the politicians, and can kill a lot of the rest on a whim. And Mexican legalization would weaken the cartels over the long term by enabling new entrants, but wouldn't destroy their power overnight, before they were able to inflict punishment.

And legalizing would also weaken the government, as a lot of US aid is dependent on anti-drug cooperation. And that impact would be a lot quicker than the impact to the cartels.

Re: Is Legal Pot Crippling Mexican Drug Trafficking Organisations?

#150

Post by topmonk »

Hasz wrote: post #132
neosavvy wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with the fact that the Mexican state needs strength to deal with this. I think I just heard on NPR this morning that more poppies are being grown in Mexico as of late due to perfect climate. I also read the farmers get nearly nothing for their crop, and obviously the high end cartels take all the profits anyways. How would the US possibly strengthen the Mexican Government though, barring massive investment?

Let Mexico take the manufacturing the US doesn't want -- heavy industrial, low wage, quick turn assembly. You get to cut China/SE Asia, boost Mexico, and provide a competitive advantage to US business. Imagine if Mexico had the manufacturing capability of China, plus a growing middle class, fueled by no-education-necessary manufacturing jobs. As a business, you don't have to deal with BS joint ventures, no time zone…

> Imagine if Mexico had the manufacturing capability of China, plus a growing middle class, fueled by no-education-necessary manufacturing jobs.

More excessive pollution? We don't need another China.

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