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Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

washingtonpost.com

191–200 of 238 posts

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#191
post #171
post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Donald Trump's incoherent.

He is coherent in the fantasy world of his supporters. And he has millions of them. And their fantasy is a possible reality soon. I laughed at Trump when he started to run for president. It is not so funny anymore, his odds have gone up.

If he wins, the next reasonable US president will be celebrated by the rest of the world with a lot more than a pre-emptive Nobel peace prize...

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#192
post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My theory is that if you can't get a cheap, legal high then you are more susceptible to trying something else.

Could you think of a way to test this? (I imagine one can probably find lots of `natural experiments'. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_experiment )

We test that every day: People get their oxycodone prescription etc. taken away.

Today this is one of the most substantial gateways to heroin use. A proportion of those who have their opoid prescriptions taken away turn to buying more on the black market. High black market prices for drugs like oxycodone lead people to try heroin.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#193
post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because rational people know that people aren't always rational. Are you also opposed to those medians and guardrails on highways that impinge on your freedom to drive off the road when you so choose?

I think that's a spurious analogy. The public has no duty to build roads such as to enable your preferred suicide technique. The public has no right to tell you how many hours you can work or not. A job is a free exchange between two parties.

> A job is a free exchange between two parties.

That's a statement born out of extreme privilege. For substantial proportions of people, there is very little freedom involved: You take what is on offer, or you lose your house or don't eat. One side has an extreme amount of extra leverage, and some of them takes according advantage.

People died fighting for the 8 hour working day because without regulation employers simply did not give a shit if they were working people into an early grave. We have May Day labour demonstrations in large part of the world in part as a result of what is now the AFL-CIO wanting to commemorate the Chicago Haymarket massacre, and restart what was already then, in 1880's, a multiple decades long fight for human working hours.

In other instances, people burned to death because of employers that thought it ok to lock the factory doors to prevent workers from taking unauthorised breaks.

Is that an indication of a free exchange?

For a free exchange, both sides need to have reasonably equal power.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#194

Why was marijuana in the "illegal" list in the place ? Any scientific studies that it is more harmful then alcohol or smoking ? Here in India it is legal and part of the religious traditions since thousands of years. It's known as "bhang" in hindi. Essentially legalizing is just getting thing right which was wrong earlier.

"Here in India it is legal "

That's a rather spectacular claim to make, and indeed, the very first sentence of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_India says " All forms of cannabis are currently illegal in India, with some limited allowances made for some traditional preparations." So either you are wrong or the Wikipedia article is, along with all its references, history etc. I'm not a betting man but if I were, I know where I'd put my money...

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's true and a good point, but the article also quotes a Mexican grower who says the bulk price has come down about 50%. That's money right out of the cartels pockets.

It's money out of the grower's pockets, for sure. But the cartels, they'll just focus on other products.

Pivoting doesn't come without any cost, focusing on other products means large investments in infrastructure, which was earlier set up for marihuana and became unprofitable. However you want to look at it, it's a loss for the cartels in the short term. In the long term, it depends on what they decide to focus on; hopefully, we'll legalize that next thing before the cartels start making a huge profit from it.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#196
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Making Mexico pay for it for one and the other crazy ideas he wraps up in it. That, indeed, does make his plan incoherent.

If he means it's going to come out of their pockets directly, he's deluded. On the other hand, given the trade deficit he could say, we're pulling out of Nafta, unless you kerb your unauthorized border crossings. Alternatively he could fine the unauthorized border crossers they catch and partially fund it that way. Or he could institute temporary permits (seasonal whatever) and impose a fee for those. Also fine emplo…

In fact Trump has mentioned ideas such as a special tax on any money sent to Mexico, which is certainly plausible.

Trump doesn't help his case by simply headlining "and Mexico will pay for it" over and over, but he does mention practical suggestions (even if you remain opposed to the fundamental concept) from time to time on most of his policies.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#197
post #11

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Here's to hoping people realize and deal with the real gateway drug: Prescription opiates

Well, I sort of agree. I work with several fibromyalgia groups, and it's a simple fact that pain management in america is abysmal. The regulation of prescription opiates so onerus, it makes it extremely difficult for patients to get, and doctors to prescribe, the medication that would have a massive difference in their quality of life. It is because of this that they find alternatives/substitutes, which range from al…

I find the attitude of doctors to chronic pain for which they cannot provide a solution to be very frustrating.

Why is it that opiate addiction is seen as far far worse than debilitating chronic pain? Why can't the patient make that choice?

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#198
post #35
post #2

This is one of the main reasons I support legalization and/or decriminalization of all drugs. Demand is demand, and a black market economy is worse than a transparent & regulated economy. I think it's still necessary to focus on reducing demand (through education and self-help, not punishment).

I'm of the opinion people should be able to do what they want. And certainly drugs being illegal causes more problems than it solves. That being said, here is a case to think about. When I was in my early 20's (20 years ago) I got a job in Phoenix AZ working on a concrete crew. We were building poured in place buildings (something like big box store size). First we would pour the floor. Then the walls on top of the f…

Huh, have an upvote for bringing up a genuinely new point to me, thanks.

I've heard similar stories about how cooks abusing cocaine to keep up with the pace.

But I'd never made the connection that if it's legal, employers could expect performance-enhancing levels of productivity (more than I guess some restaurants and construction crews already do).

This is also an issue in professional sports and the olympics with athletes taking banned (but legal!) performance enhancing drugs. Similarly in colleges you see people abusing adderall or modafinil to study.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#199
post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crossing streets on red light is illegal too. Enjoy it.

I do. Because I can go faster wherever I want to go and laugh at the people who stan at an empty road...

Yep. You are doing it because it is faster for you, not because it is illegal.

Re: Legal marijuana is taking a bite out of drug cartels' profits

#200
post #103
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when is the sun worse than indoor lighting?

It's more about a controlled growing environment. Outdoors there's a 100% higher chance of pollination, which means seeds and spindly buds. Indoors it's much easier to separate male and female plants, and also much more likely to have consistent watering etc which leads to more lush growth

I personally find that [high quality] outdoor is akin to a beer after work. It helps you wind down after a stressful day. An hour or two later and there are no lingering effects, it's great for a touch of relaxation. I find that I can carry on being productive even while high.

Conversely, indoor tends to be more like sharing a bottle of wine with someone - you're going to get far a stronger kick out of it and it's going to last longer. It also tastes much nicer.

I'm not disputing what you're saying, growing outdoor is cheap (virtually free) and therefore attractive. Typically there is little pride involved and the quality suffers. However, well-grown outdoor fills a niche just like well-grown indoor does. It merely has a bad reputation.

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