Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer • Hacker News Board

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#41

Post by vijayr » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:18 PM UTC

throwaway13qf85 wrote: post #5

I found this sentence interesting - I surmised that Viktor serves a large segment of the East Coast and personally takes in $24,000 to $32,000 per month after all his other costs are covered. Let's say he takes in an average of $30,000 per month. Does $360,000 annually sound like quite a small amount of money for running a highly illegal business that serves a large chunk of the East Coast? Small-to-medium sized busi…

Those are very different skillsets - someone who is street smart may not be able to do the simplest of coding tasks, and a very good engineer may not have any skillset to survive the streets. This comparison doesn't make much sense.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#42

Post by josefresco » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:20 PM UTC

peterwwillis wrote: post #21

It's funny that they didn't interview any actual neighborhood-dealers. The people sitting on the corner slinging dope have a much more dangerous job than people with clientele who are discreet and wealthy. I suppose it's because they're perceived as so dangerous that reporters never talk to them. But ask a corner man his life story and he'll tell you about serving time, getting shot, and paying off cops to stay alive…

"actual neighborhood-dealers"

Actual neighborhood-dealers in my neighborhood are more like the one depicted in the article, than the "corner" style inner-city dealers you see in movies and on TV. They might not be hustling around NYC selling to business people in office buildings, but they aren't "on the corner" packing a gun and paying off cops either.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#43

Post by pantalaimon » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:20 PM UTC

peterwwillis wrote: post #21

It's funny that they didn't interview any actual neighborhood-dealers. The people sitting on the corner slinging dope have a much more dangerous job than people with clientele who are discreet and wealthy. I suppose it's because they're perceived as so dangerous that reporters never talk to them. But ask a corner man his life story and he'll tell you about serving time, getting shot, and paying off cops to stay alive…

Vice is doing that all the time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvN7fKmCoXA

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#44

Post by cnp » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:20 PM UTC

JPKab wrote: post #2

This is a nice take on the reality of the middle to upper middle class drug economy. It's not all episodes of the Wire. If you're picking up ecstasy or high-grade cannabis, chances are you're doing it like this. I have to admit that I miss MDMA. I haven't touched the stuff in over 10 years, but it was awesome to use once a year or so. I'm pretty thoroughly convinced that I overcame some issues with trusting people an…

I've personally seen MDMA fix two marriages, with one session each. Its divine stuff. I'm very happy that new studies have been completed or are being planned to further explore the psychotherapeutical side of the drug.

But aside from that, I agree. It's the best. No hangover (if it's pure), short duration, music sounds amazing, an amplified sense of intellectual focus and compassion, and good times with friends. You can't ask for anything more from an intoxicant. Its the best.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#45

Post by EGreg » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:21 PM UTC

beat wrote: post #24

"If you get jammed up, you can become a convicted felon and that damns you to do it for the rest of your life, because you won’t get anything but a $7.50 an hour job—if that. You give somebody a felony record for life, what did you accomplish? You’ve just created a lower-class idiot that has to commit more crimes to survive.” That's the problem right there. We can spend tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars incarcer…

Aren't they already entrepreneurs? Who says they have to have a job? LOL

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#46

Post by ddoolin » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:21 PM UTC

badman_ting wrote: post #15

See, I've always wanted someone like this, but never found it. I've always found people that sell one thing only (cannabis), or maybe a couple, but not the "drug supermarket". I mean, it makes sense as the article points out, if you're going to take on a big risk you might as well not do it halfway. I probably travel in the wrong circles, to put it lightly.

Yep. I may stumble upon shrooms or acid/LSD every once in awhile but for the most part, it's unknown-strained marijuana. I don't really have the type of friends to make those kinds of connections, has always been my take on why.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#47

Post by josefresco » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:22 PM UTC

badman_ting wrote: post #15

See, I've always wanted someone like this, but never found it. I've always found people that sell one thing only (cannabis), or maybe a couple, but not the "drug supermarket". I mean, it makes sense as the article points out, if you're going to take on a big risk you might as well not do it halfway. I probably travel in the wrong circles, to put it lightly.

Sometimes your "weed guy" will actually sell much more but simply not tell you. If you ask (the right way) they might reveal this, or connect you with another guy but I would suspect a lot don't want you (or anyone) to know they deal in the "harder stuff".

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#48

Post by DanBC » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:22 PM UTC

JamesArgo wrote: post #19

0xdeadbeefbabe wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it the war on drugs what kept you from using it more than once a year or so, or something else?

The metabolites of MDMA are thought to be neurotoxic. Though it's known the chemical itself is not. In a sane world, we would use drug discovery to find drugs with similar effects but without the toxic metabolites. But we love to punish people for their vices, so there is no research on creating safer alternatives to existent drugs.

And worse people cycle through novel compounds to avoid drugs laws to create "legal highs" which have bery little data to show how safe or not they are.

It's weird just how sub optimal current laws are.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#49

Post by ddoolin » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:23 PM UTC

jlgaddis wrote: post #4

mabbo wrote: post #3

It's become obvious that laws can't stop drugs. Imagine a world where the level of convenience described here was normal, but without the bullshit. No more money wasted on police trying to stop it. No sales to minors (at least, no more than cigarettes and alcohol have now). Taxes on income by drugs dealers (Colorado is showing a hell of a windfall). Reliability and safety in quality, so that you get exactly what you…

> We might even get there soon. I don't think the country, as a whole, will, but I do believe the more liberal areas will get there much quicker (as we're already seeing). I live in Indiana, the only state where one cannot buy alcohol on a Sunday. I don't think marijuana is gonna be legal here anytime in the near future.

Technically not the same, but in NC you can't buy it on Sunday before noon.

Re: Your Friendly Neighborhood Drug Dealer

#50

Post by chc » Wed, Apr 23, 2014, 6:26 PM UTC

EGreg wrote: post #45

beat wrote: post #24

"If you get jammed up, you can become a convicted felon and that damns you to do it for the rest of your life, because you won’t get anything but a $7.50 an hour job—if that. You give somebody a felony record for life, what did you accomplish? You’ve just created a lower-class idiot that has to commit more crimes to survive.” That's the problem right there. We can spend tens, hundreds of thousands of dollars incarcer…

Aren't they already entrepreneurs? Who says they have to have a job? LOL

The idea that anybody you'd label an "entrepreneur" can pull money out of thin air legally, without any capital, without any connections and without working for anyone else is rather peculiar.