Drugs Are Getting Cheaper
The prices of hard drugs like heroin and cocaine have been declining for two decades, despite billions of drug war dollars spent to restrict supply. Then there's this headline today on CNN.com:
Don't worry though. The drug war is totally working.
Via Best of the Web
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post comments
Ouch. Quick, someone find a drug warrior to go on the record with an utterly stupid non sequitor!
Heroin cheaper than six-pack of beer
I need to switch drugs. My IPAs are costing me too much.
We can send a man to the moon, but we can't secure a drug free future for our children.
(Our children who were conceived while we were drunk, born while we were on demerol, and raised with the assistance of caffeine, nicotine and Sailor Jerry rum.)
We just need to spend more money on the WoD. That would fix things. Oh, and we'd also need the Right Person In Charge.
"My IPAs are costing me too much."
Bell's Kalamazoo Stout was the correct answer.
Lamar,
We can't send a man to the moon. Not any more.
Switch to Hyper Vipers, Epi. King Cobra and Sparks...mmmmmm.
"We can't send a man to the moon. Not any more."
Yeah, right. And the space station and shuttle just "orbit" the earth. Riiiightt. We have men living in the moon's core as we speak.
From the article:
What. The. Fuck. Your kid overdosed and you were mystified as to the packets of white powder you found in her room? Congratulations: I am dumbfounded by your stupidity.
We'll be free when we can home brew our heroin like we can home brew our stout.
Nah, Warty, I just discovered Inversion IPA and that's my new thing. Malt liquor is actually weaker (Inversion is 6.8%), you humongous pussy.
And SugarBear, the day comes full circle to your Old English story. Well done everyone.
in fairness to the mom, i don't think i'd know what a packet of heroin looks like either. i would, however, *assume* they were heroin.
Lamar,
Hope you're right. Because we're not even going to be sending people to LEO without foreign help from 2010 - 2016 (and that date keeps getting pushed out).
If we do have FTL travel already, could someone involved let me know? That would be so awesome.
When I was in high school in the 1940's I read science fiction and knew that I would live to see the first man on the Moon. I did not know I would live to see the last one.
What. The. Fuck. Your kid overdosed and you were mystified as to the packets of white powder you found in her room?
Yeah, what's going on there? "I hate drugs SO BADLY that I agressively refuse to absorb even the most basic information about such EVIL substances." Perhaps a wee bit counterproductive. Just a thought.
"Lamar | April 13, 2009, 4:55pm | #
"We can't send a man to the moon. Not any more."
Yeah, right. And the space station and shuttle just "orbit" the earth. Riiiightt. We have men living in the moon's core as we speak."
Not only that, we are actually, at this moment, fighting a secret war with the Chinese over territory on the far side of the moon.
"Not only that, we are actually, at this moment, fighting a secret war with the Chinese over territory on the far side of the moon."
I heard that the Chinese are going to be drilling for American oil on the moon.
When Mike starts throwing rocks at us from the moon, you'll all be sorry.
It's (seriously) difficult to tell if drugs are getting cheaper. (1) inflation. (2) getting older and making more money. (3) making more money and demanding higher quality. (4) making more money and demanding a more discrete transfer.
We need a couple of pipe-hittin' niggers to go to work on John Walters with a pair of pliers and a blow torch.
If it gets any cheaper, it will become cost effective enough to include as cereal box toys.
Gene Cernan was the last human on the moon. . .and that was in December 1972. It's absolutely shocking to me that we haven't been anywhere but LEO since then. Pathetic.
Still, I'm hopeful that the private sector will finally get us into space in a big way in the coming decades. SpaceX, Bigelow, etc. all have promise.
"If it gets any cheaper, it will become cost effective enough to include as cereal box toys."
Frosted Mini-Weeds.
Warren, that was delightfully offensive. Well done.
Gene Cernan was the last human on the moon. . .and that was in December 1972. It's absolutely shocking to me that we haven't been anywhere but LEO since then. Pathetic.
Yeah, why has it been so long? With all the advances in special effects since then it'd be a lot easier to fake another moon landing today than it was to fake the original.
The economy's so bad, even Pimps be downsizing.
The problem with space is that its really expensive to get anything done, and its always much cheaper and more effective just to send a bloody robot.
It's an awful lot of money to spend just for the symbolism of having a dude putter around where no dude has puttered around before.
That anyone thinks that the War on Drugs has been anything other than a colossal failure boggles the mind. We humans are members of a stupid species.*
* 'Cept for SugarFree and Epi. Still members of a stupid species, but they're likely not human.
It's absolutely shocking to me that we haven't been anywhere but LEO since then. Pathetic.
I dunno, I think Americans have reached the point where we look at Mars and say "pff, too far!"
Besides, space travel isn't sustainable... or something.
Ha, ha.
In any case, Buzz Aldrin answered the moon hoax nut question a while back.
toxic,
If we just go to plant flags, then I can't argue the point. But if we actually went to stay, humans can do an order of magnitude better science than robots at today's state of the art. And there's a lot more to space than science. Really, all we need to do is figure out a way to get to orbit cheaply. Once that happens, the solar system will open up to us.
Keep Dope Alive!!!
Had we done so, this girl would probably b alive 2-day. 2Days herion is much more pure than that stuff mixed with milk sugar, pieces of brick, and god knows what from the 70's and 80's.
Had it been legal, a recommended dose would have been available.
God knows what the street pushers put in it. That's what makes it dangerous...and of course, it's addictive properties.
PEOPLE NEED to take responsibility for their own life.
The WoD has done nothing but raise supply, lower prices, propagate a class of clandestine chemical drugs that are more dangerous than the natural drugs, ruin lives, careers, and sent almost 3 generations of blacks/latinos to prison FOR NOTHING !!!
So, who besides me voted in CNNs dumbass poll?
So, what your are saying is that we need to get medieval on his ass?
Still members of a stupid species, but they're likely not human.
We can still breed with your women, Hoo-man!
What impressed me was the number of commenters who said something like "I sympathize with her family, but the drug war didn't stop her, and it's not stopping anyone else, we should quit fighting it."
I really think the center of gravity is shifting on this issue. I also don't think there's going to be another Nancy Reagan to come along and change public opinion for the WoD again. The negative effects of it are becoming too clear.
I did, but it just showed "0%" for all choices.
I tried, but the poll "results" show 0% across the board.
Dagny,
Exactly. My mom thought everything was drugs. She once came storming into my room rattling a 35mm canister at me, screaming about "pills." I opened it and poured out my D&D dice.
In retrospect, I wish it had been pills.
"Not only that, we are actually, at this moment, fighting a secret war with the Chinese over territory on the far side of the moon."
If the Chinese had lasers strapped to their heads and our soldiers had robotic claw hands that would be so fucking cool!
It's (seriously) difficult to tell if drugs are getting cheaper. (1) inflation. (2) getting older and making more money. (3) making more money and demanding higher quality. (4) making more money and demanding a more discrete transfer.
And (5) beer keeps getting more expensive.
Still members of a stupid species, but they're likely not human.
While I am Kryptonian, NutraSweet is from Uranus. And man, does he smell like it. Did you know the Klingons are constantly circling his planet?
Warren, that was delightfully offensive. Well done.
You don't recognize a Pulp Fiction reference when you see one? For shame.
Sure. You just found some icosagonal Dilaudid.
Also: reference
Seattle has reduced him to poop jokes. Great.
BP,
Hmm... Dilaudid. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't been bleeding so much.
Sorry to hear about the bleeding , but I doubt that. Dilaudid is the sort of thing you enjoy if you're in pain, and enjoy more if you're not in pain. At least you took care of that albino assassin.
And speaking of blotter acid, my dad once asked me (during my teenage years) if I was on "pills". I felt truthful saying no, because I was taking blotter LSD, not pills.
You don't recognize a Pulp Fiction reference when you see one? For shame.
Not all of us are Tarantino-fellaters. Besides, I was really wasted when I watched it. Much like Miller's Crossing, which I had to go back and re-watch sober.
Not only that, we are actually, at this moment, fighting a secret war with the Chinese over territory on the far side of the moon.
There is no dark side of the moon. It's all dark.
Oh wait... "enjoyed more..." Yeah, that reading comprehension class is really paying off for me.
The WoD is a great success. Gov gets to increase power, cities get industrial prisons, authorities at all levels get away with all sorts of bullshit in the name of the childrens.
It does seem there is a kernel of doubt in the minds of the mob, but it will take much more time.
At least you took care of that albino assassin.
That bastard paid, all right.
Well, it didn't help that every time they gave me an injection, I vomited violently for about ten minutes. Chunks of stomach lining violently. Popped two staples violently. Wow, that sucked.
Jesus. No wonder you hate your pancreas.
aix42 - I don't doubt it will be a while. But I stand by what I said upthread. I really think the center of gravity is shifting. People are really starting to question it in a way that would have been unthinkable 20 years ago. I've talked to some retirees who were against the WoD, and that's an age group that I would have thought was monolithic in its support.
"The Ciappas helped pass Long Island's "Natalie's Law," which requires officials to post on the web heroin related arrests by location, frequency, and age of those arrested."
This is just going to tell people where they should go to buy heroin.
A gallon of grain alcohol is also cheaper than a six pack of beer. Part of this results from the transportation cost savings when you concentrate the bioactive molecules. It's like frozen concentrated orange juice.
Jtuf:
Everclear + Grape Drank= the fastest, most clinical drunk you will ever experience.
Uh, what were we talking about?
Oh yeah, space. Colonization is epically impractical at this point, and it will be for as long as the way to get into orbit is based on the same principle as a flamethrower.
Not anymore.
This is not a scientific poll
No shit.
I like how every overdose story follows the same pattern:
1. Parents (irresponsibly?) didn't think it was a problem
2. He/She used to be such a good student
3. Started spending time alone (artist = drug addict)
4. He/She started fighting w/ parent (really abnormal for teen!)
But whatever, cherry pick facts, you Drug Warriors, justice will find it's way home soon...
"Much like Miller's Crossing, which I had to go back and re-watch sober."
Look into your heart, look into your heart!
I blame the MOTHER.
What's funny is that they use horror stories about drugs to try to argue that drugs should continue to be illegal. Hey, assholes, those horror stories occurred while drugs were illegal. At the very worst, they would have gone down exactly the same if drugs were legal. At best, things like overdoses wouldn't happen because there would be quality controls over drug production.
MNG you fucker, I had another line from that I was going to spin, but no, now it'd just be derivative. Damn you! Damn you to hell!
2. He/She used to be such a good student
I blame the drug dealer primarily. He should not have sold to minors. I also think these incidences result from public schools and child labor laws. The government mandates that kids separate from parents for 30 hours each week and then everyone is shocked when these inadequately suporvised kids end up in danger. Parent's are the natural protectors and guides for children. They would do a much better job keeping kids safe than teachers ever would.
Episiarch,
I'm with you--Tarantino is grossly overrated, though better than Michael Bay.