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Top 10 Facts About The U.S. Illegal Drug Market
Recent surveys and research studies by sources from the UN to streetRx.com put the size of the illegal drug market in the U.S. at anywhere from $200 to $750 billion. The market is notoriously hard to track by design, and it is constantly evolving as prices and usage fluctuates; but as ConvergEx's Nick Colas notes, there’s a plethora of data on the topic: formal surveys by the CDC and user-submitted blog posted on websites like Hightimes.com trace price, usage, and traffic stats for marijuana, powder and crack cocaine, d-methamphetamine, and heroin. Legalized dispensaries now allow us to estimate potential tax revenue from marijuana sales, while incarceration rates for drug offenders reveal the economic impact of the illegal drug trade. In short, while the illegal drug market might be hard to track – if only by virtue of its illegality – Colas points out that we can learn a lot about its size and scope by aggregating these formal and informal data. Most surprising of them all: illicit drug use is no longer the realm of just the youth.
Via ConvergEx's Nick Colas,
The laws of supply and demand exist everywhere, and looking at the most esoteric markets can give you some very useful insights into mainstream topics. There is a lot to learn here about consumer behavior, the social costs of drug law enforcement, and even some surprising demographic data.
Ever wondered how much a particular narcotic or opioid costs in your city? The answer might’ve been hard to find out 20 years ago without some serious hook ups in the shady part of town, but today all you have to do is head to streetrx.com. Type in your drug of choice, and up pops the data: location, price, date, and a 1-5 star rating. You’ve got your standard cocktails on here – oxycodone, heroin, marijuana – and then a few not-so-popular choices like hydrocodone, Exalgo, and Klonopin. Each one of them is going to cost you a pretty penny, depending on where you buy it – but at least you’ll know whether you got a good deal or not.
Streetrx.com and similar, user-run sites like Hightimes.com have made the drug economy more transparent than ever – but it’s still virtually impossible to put a sticker price on it. Academic literature on the topic puts the figure at anywhere from $200 to more than $750 billion, with most estimating around the $400-$500 billion level. But as an illegal activity, illicit drug use is highly under-reported, if at all, so “guesstimates” are the name of the game when it comes to determining the market’s size.
Still, while we might not be able to guess the exact dollar amount the underground drug market rakes in every year, these informal data sources – along with some of the more formal stats tracked by the Center for Disease Control – can tell us quite a bit about the nature of this economy in the US. From price inflation to average user age, the aggregation of this formal and informal data paints a slightly less-fuzzy and, to some degree, larger picture of the market. Here’s the top 10 that we found, in no particular order:
1. Say what you want about the 1960s and 1970s, but the current decade has logged the heaviest drug use per person per year in the history of the United States. 23.9 million Americans aged 12 or older – 9.2% of the entire population – were “current users” (i.e. had used in the past month) of an illicit drug in 2012, the latest data available from the CDC shows. That’s up from 7.1% in 2001, and more than double the rate of 1969’s 4% (according to a 1969 Gallup poll). But the “peace and love” decades aren’t totally free of blame. The youngsters that seemed to have pioneered increasing drug usage in the 60s and 70s are apparently still at it today: 7.2% of those aged 50-54 reported illicit drug use within the past month, compared to 6.6% of those 55-59 and 3.6% of those 60-64. Each of these figures is more than double the respective rates recorded in 2002. Use of illicit drugs among those 12-17, meanwhile, is dropping, while usage in the “young adult” community of 18-25 has been rather stable at around 21.3%.
2. The most “Typical” drug user is apparently an 18-25 year old male living in the urban South, based on data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The South is the biggest drug consuming region in the country by sheer numbers with 7.5 million current users, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. But New England and the Pacific West had the highest rates of usage at 11.4% and 12.3% of the total population. The biggest “experimenting” population is also in New England; the number of people reporting that they had used an illicit drug at some point in their lifetime was higher here than anywhere else (55.4%). City dwellers were also the most common drug users: 57.5% of the total “current users” recorded in 2012 lived in metro areas with more than 1 million people, for example, while less than 1% lived in “rural” areas. Males are almost twice as likely to use as females (11.2% versus 6.8%), though the numbers are rising among both genders. And finally, drug usage among ethnic backgrounds vary widely: 9.1% of whites report being current users, compared to 10.7% of blacks, 3.5% of Asians, and 12.1% of American Indians.
3. Each region has their “drug of choice”. Marijuana seems to have the widest fan base, with current users making up at least 5% of the population in every region, but the Pacific West and New England again have the highest rates of current usage here at 10%. The Northeast, and specifically New England, houses the top users of powder cocaine; the South Atlantic is the hub of crack cocaine and hallucinogen usage, though. The Pacific West is the top culprit for inhalant use – which is also most popular in rural areas – and for un-prescribed psychotherapeutics (tranquilizers, sedatives, etc.). The Midwest finally tops a category with illicit use of pain relievers, though the East South Central region of the South is also high on the list.
4. According to the CDC, median prices for 0.1-10 grams of the 5 most common drugs are as follows: Powder cocaine - $150; Crack cocaine - $180; Heroin - $650; Meth - $280; Marijuana - $14. For context, we should note that cocaine and marijuana users typically buy “by the gram”, and these numbers coincide closely with reported prices on drug user blogs. Heroin and meth are more expensive partially because of higher purity, partially because of higher risk, and partially because users here tend to buy “by the hit” – which seems to be less than 1 gram. Interestingly enough, marijuana is actually the only drug that has increased in price (in current dollars) compared to its cost in the 1980s. The CDC’s drug price data shows that, in 2007 dollars, powder cocaine costs have dropped by -87.2% (you would have paid $1,000 for the same amount back in 1982), crack cocaine by -66.5%, Heroin by 93.2%, and Meth by -43.1%. Marijuana has doubled from $6.57 in 1981 to about $14 today.
According to Streetrx.com and Hightimes.com, though, prices seem to have been relatively stable over the past 10-15 years or so; $20/gram for marijuana, $80-$100/gram for powder cocaine, $20/20 mg of oxycontin, etc. This would seem to imply that drug prices haven’t inflated or deflated in years; perhaps everyone is just getting their fix on the cheap. Or maybe the government is woefully misinformed. What it probably comes down to, though, is demand and supply: millions more people are smoking marijuana, while total drug production for pot, cocaine, and opioids has stepped up in the past decade. Some prices may be on the rise again in the years to come, however, as reports show that some top exporters (Columbia, Peru, Afghanistan) are trying to crack down on production.
5. Interestingly enough, prices don’t vary too much between the black market and the brick and mortar dispensary, at least in terms of pot. According to a dispensary we spoke to in Colorado, 1/8 ounce packs of marijuana run around $60; it’s about the same on the street, per streetrx.com. And it’s exactly this street competition that keeps dispensary prices low: street dealers don’t have to pay taxes or building costs to keep profits high. As a result, many of these dispensaries find themselves just breaking even.
6. Illegal producers, though, are making a killing on mark-ups. According to research by “Drugs Uncovered” in the UK, heroin can sell for 60x its original price in the end market: cocaine can get up to 18x, and marijuana about 3.5x. Most of the money goes to operations, like worker pay and money laundering fees, but there’s no doubt that the kingpins of these organizations are living large off their markup dime. Which leads us to our next point…
7. Although unquantifiable, drug money is undoubtedly spent regularly in the luxury retail space. At least once a month police around the world will make a massive drug bust at a gang or kingpin’s home base and discover a kind of “millionaire lifestyle”: luxury cars, jewelry, alcohol, clothing, etc. Drug suppliers might not be the target audience of these luxury retailers, but they’re certainly providing a chunk of what economists call “Marginal demand”.
8. While the drug market might generate large amounts of cash for suppliers, its cost to the state is astronomical. Of the roughly 1.6 million people in prison in 2012, some 330,000 were doing time for drug offenses, and at an average cost of about $25,000 per inmate. All together that’s a whopping $8.2 billion. And, interestingly, according to a 2005 paper “Long-Run Trends in Incarceration of Drug Offenders in the US” by J. Caulkins and S. Chandler, higher arrest rates for drug offenders have actually correlated to higher usage rates. Keeping them in prison doesn’t seem to be stopping the flow of drugs.
9. The National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates that illicit drug use costs the U.S. $11 billion in healthcare every year, and $193 billion when accounting for crime costs and lost work productivity. Those abusing prescription narcotics and rotating multiple doctors for scripts are estimated to cost insurers $10,000-$15,000 every year.
10. Several studies also indicate that legalization of marijuana (and potentially other illicit drugs) in the US would have a net positive impact on the economy. Not only would state and local governments be able to tax sales – which, according to the Cato Institute, could rake in about $8.7 billion per year – but much of the money that we currently spend on incarceration and enforcement would also be saved. It’s not exactly a budget saver, true, but $8.7 billion is nothing to sneeze at either.
The drug economy is nothing new, but according to most of these data points it is an ever-growing and ever-evolving market. As long as it stays underground, we’re unlikely to get a clear reading of its exact size or value, but based on user-reported data and informed estimates we can try to approximate how much it generates and how much it costs. Perhaps once we have those numbers, we can try to figure out how we approach the drug market and its participants.
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Hey man am I driving ok? "pause"
I think were parked man!
Cheech and chong
Add you favorite Quote
HERE....quick eat all these man! Oh wait...don't eat THOSE!
What?
The market is rather easy to quantify. Just find out from JPMorgan, HSBC, Wachovia/WellsFargo, and the other usual suspects how much money they launder annually.
that streetrx site is kinda creepy
for my area nothing but hard drugs mentioned
considering we find empty heroin bags all over the kids soccer field a couple blocks away, at apparently 4$ a bag
not sure what that gets you, but its still creepy
The key term here is "illegal" drugs. We need a list and estimate of all the legally prescribed drugs that have been harmful to someone's health, which is the main reason for making a drug illegal. I'd wager the legal drug numbers, both the total dollar amount and number of dead, are higher than all illegal drugs put together. Especially if you throw in all of the "legal" drugs that leak out into the world and become "illegal".
Oh, and fuck you Ber...Yellen! Shit, I need to get used to the new blood.
>>> It’s not exactly a budget saver, true, but $8.7 billion is nothing to sneeze at either.
If you count the lives [that will be lost] by [current] dealers and by law enforcement, that may make more sense. Assuming 10% of dealers get off the streets and get that janitor job, wouldn't that be wonderful?
I hope you aren't busy for a week, man.
Dave is not here!
I want a new drug.
These data clearly indicate the humans in this country are all fucked up.
I used to do a bunch of drugs, but that was way back there...
Dave Atell, Skanks For the Memories DVD
Buy it now, thank me later
Compliant sheep were bad enough. Now we get fainting goats too.
I prefer the goats. The sheep vote.
"I want a new drug."
A good friend said that to me once. Not long after blood clots killed him after a flight to Costa Rica.
Careful bro.
Over.
I love weed. I love it! But not as much as I love pussy.
The End
they go together like a meal with the perfect wine
btw, both of those will be quite accessible when the shtf, at least according to shtfschool guy selco, who survived balkan war 92-95. quite educational material. weed was one of the cheapest things (not only compared to drugs, alcohol etc but in general) available because everybody was growing it and real free market finally kicked in. it was drug of choice (drug is an overstatement of course) for its recreational purposes to handle the stress.
"He's tri-sexual."
"Tri-sexual?"
"Yeah, he'll try anything: men, women, goats, chickens, dogs, mud...anything!"
That's pansexual or omnisexual. deviant
"Earache my eye!"
"Dave? Dave's not here man."
HEY PENDACOS!!!!
Cheech (tied up in a straight jacket): "Please, somebody scratch my balls!"
GW: Oh yeah? Well Let me ask you something Kumar...... do you like giving handjobs?
Kumar: No sir..
GW: Do you like gettin' handjobs?
Kumar: hah.... yeah
GW: Alright, so that makes you a fuckin' hypocriticizer, too. So shut the fuck up! And smoke my weed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-6UE610I5k
after I score some illegal drugs, I am going to finally click on the meet thai girls ad... I HAVE A DREAM.
This is Obama posse's brain on drugs (ssri ones), any questions?
RIPS
FED should be making drugs free to the public....no way can they expect people to watch this shit and not be wrecked all day. It's inhumane.
If I was a big city dweller, I'd do a lot ( moar ) drugs too. Big cities suck.
11. According to writer Doud Valentine the yearly drug profits exceed $300 billion and this sum does not move in and out of banks without being noticed. On the contrary, it either buys government and/or is the 'government'. Government will never leave this kind of money on the table, and don't.
The 'war on drugs' is a war on you.
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2012/12/11/how-hsbc-allegedly...
Illegal drugs are great for demand of Dollars. So are legal drugs. Maybe even more.
The parasitic industries of LE & Judiciary, Prisons and Medicine would not like their lifestyles downgraded by legalizing drugs, and treating their use same as DUI or Health-Risk cases. Legalize it all, and let the Marketplace, DUI cops and MDs or God sort it out.
Not my expertise, thank god, but I have noticed a trend of retirees selling their meds for extra income.
Also the quasi-legal "spice" trade is massive, at least on the east coast, and the fools don't have a clue what they are smoking or what it will do to them and those around them.
Like most US initiated wars, the war on drugs has proved costly and ineffective. ONe might consider the government decide to change strategies and pull a "George Costanza" by doing the exact opposite of what they believe. A war on sobriety may perhaps yield sobriety. A war on skinny, may reduce the number of obese folks. The war on intelligence apparently would produce more intelligence.
Naw, it'd just expand the FSA. Repeal the drug laws, then put a pile of government crack in a ghetto with a sign that says "free" and watch how quickly it disappears. Same with brownies and hotdogs in the stands at any sporting event, although I expect the crack pile would kill a lot of people off and cost less in the long run.
If I ever run a country, you're my right hand man.
Re: costly and ineffective
Welllll.... Costly is a desirable feature of any government program. The more you spend the more loot it distributed to cronies. Inneffective ensure the program can continue perpetually.
Kinda like the war against the sand-people. The top 10% has done REALLY well with Big-MIC (perhaps the best socialist scam that has ever existed).
I beg to differ as the illegal drug trade has been very profitable for the CIA.
Can we have a war on jobs next?
I'm proud to say in my younger days I personally cornered the glue market.
I said no to drugs but they wouldn't listen.
Well, you just tell 'em "No means no!" Failing that I recommend a 'safe' word.
They wanted me to go to rehab, but I said NO no no.
FWIW, there is a new book Clean, from 2013, that deals with the HUGE costs to US society of addiction in all of its chemical forms (inc. alcohol). I forget the author´s name, but it should be easy to find via search.
EDIT:
Here´s a review. Addiction can be broken, but it is hard. I know.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/science/clean-book-review-once-an-addicts-father-now-an-advocate.html?_r=0
Sort of like the HUGE cost to the US taxpayer of the addiction in all of it's monetary forms of the US government to taxes. I don't believe this addiction can be broken. If so I know it would be hard.
A different kind of addiction, but yes...
Its not a war on drugs. Its a war on freedom.
Let's do some math: 24 million current users and a market size of $480 billion. So the average user is spending $20,000/year on drugs. Does that make any sense to anyone? Does it folllow that poor people are never more than casual users--since $20,000 is more than they earn in a year?
a teenth of coke is 125 dollars
by 365 days
over 45,000 dollars
and thats in fact a mild habit
people find a way to get the money
prostitution, theft being very popular
you left out banking
Now that would just be redundant. ;-)
I'm guessing they're totalling all the transactions (every time it passes hands)...
Re: Does it folllow that poor people are never more than casual users--since $20,000 is more than they earn in a year?
I think your logic is flawed. The "job creator" class would never be so immoral as to do drugs. Only the poor (aka LOSERS) do drugs which is why they are poor because they have no morals.
+1 for the very dry sarcasm.
You sure he's being sarcastic?
Yes I am. I have read what he writes and this is sarcasm.
dear pasttense. or better - dear bennie. i like to see you slumming here. i have a pal that was at princeton, said you were the best professor ever! and you see bennie, 20k/year doesn't add up to much. but then again, there's wallets to be 'found' and 'tires' that get missed and car radios, etc. do i need to continue? thank god you've never been the victim of a crime. i hope your bodyguards stick around to the end, because i'd hate to see you losing your head over something.
Of course the govt is gonna want their piece of the cut, just like all mafia do.
Make it reportable, traceable and totally vig-able.
They already get their cut. The CIA controls the majority of the world wide drug trade. The Mafia and associated drug cartels are the distribution channel. The Vatican is the central money laudering post. The money collected goes into black ops funds and then flows back out to fund terror, rig elections, buy politicians, set up prostituion rings, etc. Legalizing drugs would just lower the profit margin. This is a no-go for the TBTB.
You understand it.
Drug Legalization would just lead to World Wide Financial Collapse. It is not just about proifits. Drug Trafficking is probably in the neighborhood of 10% to 20% Global Production. It is what keeps Latin America afloat.
It is as bad as you write and even worse.
Who buys a gram of weed?
I guess it's the same crowd who put $5 of gas in their car.
Go big or go home.
One g Wayne, he's your man, if he can't get it, no one can.
nickel bag yo.
I remember these green resinous pine scented buds that added 3 new dimensions to food, music, and sex.
Don't know how much it weighed just that it was $20 back in the 80's and lasted over a month.
*sigh*
Prolly Alpharetta Green. Smelled like pine 'cos it was grown among pines. Can't say for sure, been out of that world since before you got in, but most of the area in question has since been developed, so it can't be what it once was. There's even a new city there now, John's Creek. They call it progress.
I could use some hash brownies right about now.
Been waiting for this stop sign to turn green for hours now....
"License?"
"Isn't it on the bumper?"
"This is code name hard head ... I mean hat, code name hard hat..."
Drugs are bad. Mkay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vpin9VhNck
"Half Baked" RE Cocain v. MJ.
Thats funny Bob Sagat telling his life story to a young Clayton Bigsby.. Suck'in up all the white man's coke...
Seeing the pic of all the drugs makes me miss the 80s. Who's up for a Tom Hank's style bachelor party blowout.
Whales tales, prince of wales, roman company of 8, calls on ?
Drugs bad ... as opposed to booze - right.
"They don't want you not to do drugs, they want you to do their drugs."
Chris Rock
There is only ONE solution, we must redouble our efforts at stopping illegal drugs or the trrrsss will win!
" I was'nt lookin' at his neck "
Love the applicable name Hightimes.com.
The Drug Problem can be solved easily. You are in the Nuke Biz so you should know.
1) Break apart Smoke Detectors. (Used ones are generally priced at 25 Cents at a Garage Sales or Swap Meet.)
2) Locate the Detector using a Geiger Counter.
3) Crush and pulverize to a fine Powder, the Radioactive part, the Americurium.
4) Add that powder to Methamphetamine or Cocaine.
5) Distribute this in an Indian Casino, or, other mass venue.
The deep inhalation through snorting and/or smoking should cause Brain Cancer or Lung Cancer.
It is easy to solve the Drug Problem, right?
/sarc
A bit like the US Government poisoning alcohol during the era of prohibition.
Killed thousands, but at least it stopped 'em drinking!
Alcohol is a drug.
It is the CIA who is running the Drugs. They can just as easily poison the Drugs.
And the people fret over Vaccines? The first undesirables that will be targeted by the US Government for extermination will be the Drug Abusers. The Masses will support that without question. They already support caging them, right?
Besides we will have to keep those oncologists busy earning those OBLAMEO CARE Bux somehow.
And you think they want to cure Cancer? There is a cure which is 98% effective that Oncologists are forbidden to tell you about. It is a Placental Cord infusion treatment offered in Third World Nations and Europe.
No. The Medical Profession and Insurance Companies are looking at a windfall with OBLAMEO CARE.
It is all fucked up.
My drug of choice, is Jesus.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWHOIowtzXA more like
There's no hope for you, then.
Tell the truth. You simply replaced one drug with another, right? It's cool, I gave up the illegal stuff when the first child came along. Now I'm an alcoholic. I never did heroin or crack but I can tell you from personal experience that booze is much worse for you than pot or blow.
Truth is it was meant to be humorous, because I've actually heard several people say this exact phrase, and I've always found it to be a hilarious statement. I thought the pause (comma) would give it enough sarcasm that folks would catch on...I'm sure some did and some didn't...no matter.
Drugs and organized religion are two things I've avoided in my life.
This is a somewhat incorrect statement:
National statistics show that fewer than 3% of prisoners were doing time for selling or possessing small quantities of drugs. The "drug offense" is usually coupled with a violent felony offense and/or previous violent offense a la three strikes laws.
For what it cost to put a doper in jail, you could send him to Harvard instead.
Probably would improve the class of people there too.
"Is your dad in Govt. too?"
"Nah, I'm on furlough from the pen."
The 10 strongest strains of weed grown by an Israeli Harvard professor and the CIA,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrDheQBb2og
I wonder what's up with this story? Good night!
Remember when the Brits tried to defeat China by importing all that heroin into that country and creating an epidemic?
Get caught with drugs in China today and you get a bullet in the brain.
What's up America? Ya'll got JayZee fever brah, a lil rock and a couple trees ain't goin hurt? Obama baby!
Over.
HSBC - born of the drug trade - still heavily involved.
That Hong Kong dope money funded a lot of revolutions in the Far East as well. Check out Jardine-Mattheson's involvement in the Satsuma Rebellion against the shogun in Japan.
Think they got a piece of the Bank of Japan once the Meiji government was installed? Sure enough, Jacob Schiff shows up a few years later to finance the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.
The world we think we know is very different from the world that is.
I used to do drugs. I still do, but I used to, too.
Is that a Mitch Hedberg line? If so, Mitch isn't doing drugs anymore. :-(
They call it all dope for a reason.
huh? whah?
The reason being propaganda
whah? I don't get it. can u explain more?
fawk man, hold on. I need a nap first.
sober people acting wasted is worse than down syndrome porn
The Market that needs to be tapered is the Illegal Drug Market.
Of course that will have the very same affect as Tapering QE.
Just a threat of Five Percent Tapering sent the Dow Jones into a dive.
Imagine if they taper the Illegal Drug Market, a liitle less than the same size as the Fed's QE, by 5%?
Will the effects of such a move be the same? (Yes)
There will be no Tapering of QE. There will, correspondingly, be no Tapering of the Illegal Drug Market, through Legalization or Elimination by Summary Executions.
The Nation's markets will tank. We just cannot afford to do that.
Deaths from pharmacrap are well documented to be 10 times that of "illegal" drugs.
When I see a pharmaceutical sales rep in a suit, I see a killer.
When I see a street corner drug dealer, I see a businessman.
Pharmaceutical sales reps make more $ than corner drug dealers as well.
"The CDC’s drug price data shows that, in 2007 dollars, powder cocaine costs have dropped by -87.2% (you would have paid $1,000 for the same amount back in 1982), crack cocaine by -66.5%, Heroin by 93.2%, and Meth by -43.1%."
A government spokesman, faced with those figures, promised that the government plans to triple down on it's War on Drugs Not Pushed by Big Pharma.
Next up on the ten o'clock news, bad results from QE3 will lead to QE4...
No offense Mr. Smith but "dropped by -87.2% "
Double negative brah!
Dropped by -87% MEANS and increase of 87%!!!!!
Over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ha! Very funny. I missed the double negatives, an unintended error on the part of the author, but his intended figure can be seen when one compares the current price for cocaine vs what it was in 1982 as stated in the column.
God I couldn't imagine putting any of that shit in my body.
These days, that is. 30 years ago...different story!
What has the pharma doc got you poppin? Some statins to kill your liver and induce cognative disorders? Take an occasional drink? Putting shit in your body, they feed you poison on a regular basis because agrifood lobbiests bribed your Gub'ment to help out their bottom line at your expense.
Well said. I only use illegal drugs. The legal ones are far too dangerous.
The war against drugs has failed and it has not, depending on the perspective you take. It has failed in the sense that it has not put an end to drugs production, usage and criminality related to them. It has succeeded in putting prices up, making some people filthy rich and moving the money through money laundering banks. Add below if you want...
Reality is for people who can't handle drugs!
A few figures to explain why weed is illegal.
Motor Vehicle Accidents 35,332
Alcohol-Induced Deaths 25,692
All Illicit Drugs Combined (2000) 17,000
Cannabis 0
Cannibis is illegal because it would damage the Economy of the USA if it were not.
I believe that the Illegal Drug Market needs to be Tapered. If you legalized it then that would be at least 75% Taper if not 90%. Prices for illegal drugs would realize a rapid decline.
That will crash the Economy as that Market is almost ONE TENTH of our ENTIRE GDP.
There will be no taper in QE.
There will be no taper in the Illegal Drug Trade.
IT IS ABOUT MONEY...NOT ABOUT WHAT IS MORAL.
Why the F am I investing in PM's???
Once it is legal, expect the usual market cycle. Multiple operations, high profits, market saturation (if that's possible), then debt explosions, consolidation, monopolization, etc.
Market all time high. So am I so, I can deal with this shit. BTFD, i'll buy the fuckin' sack. I'm high as shit right now.
How could anyone get through the day without being baked with all the bizarre bullshit that takes place every day?
Presenting a rude, macabre sense of humour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5t3j6xQLmY
Funny FKN Planet - Deek Jackson
Hour long collection of video essays.
At 14:45 mark begins one on drugs.
Segment ended at the 21:18 mark.
Thanks RM, that's an impressive and funny rap on ilegal drugs.
.GOV and CIA biggest dealers of all...conundrum for growers who pay their mortgage with proceeds...yes we would like to be legitimate but taxes to gov will just be wasted as well as corps taking one of the last true free markets and crushing the small businessman...one solution outlaw outdoor in sight grows, regulates supply if it must go legal...no central valley plantations...and fucking kill mexicans who grow on our public lands
I never exhaled?
The criminal practice of central bankers makes that look like chump change. I think the main reason that they even mess with the drug business is to provide covert military operations funding. They need untracable cash instead of digital currency for that purpose. And of course people like Kerry and Holder.
8. While the drug market might generate large amounts of cash for suppliers, its cost to the state is astronomical.
What a lie. The market costs the State nothing. It's the Fascist Prohibition laws and their violent enforcement that cost money- and irt costs the tax-payer not the state.
This is a perfect example of so much of government activity being negative GDP.
Resources are taken from the producyive and given to the unproductive to ensure others will be unproductive.