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  1. #26
    hasta la victoria, siempre cheguevara's Avatar
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    forget cocaine for now. step 1 is making MJ legal.

    MaryJane is drug cartel's bread and butter, they pay their daily expenses with that income. You cut that and you cut a huge chunk of the cartels money.

  2. #27
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    counterfit cigs are like counterfit luxury goods. looks like the real thing, but mfrd in China or elsewhere.

    counterfitting of Marlboro cigarettes in Europe has been going on for decades.

  3. #28
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    You don't think legalizing cocaine and making it readily available will lead to more cocaine usage and more problems?
    No, I really don't. What would make you think it would? Do you have any evidence of situations where legalizing something led to more usage? Would you start indulging in some nose candy if it became illegal?

    thinking cocaine isn't readily available as is

  4. #29
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    forget cocaine for now. step 1 is making MJ legal.

    MaryJane is drug cartel's bread and butter, they pay their daily expenses with that income. You cut that and you cut a huge chunk of the cartels money.
    I'm on board with that. I don't think you have the same potential problems with legalizing MJ as opposed to Coke.

    But I think you also have to couple it with some kind of military take out of the cartels. They have too much money and too much at stake to passively sit and watch the U.S. destroy their livelihood. If they can't make money selling drugs to the U.S., they're going to find some other way to make their billions.

  5. #30
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    No, I really don't. What would make you think it would? Do you have any evidence of situations where legalizing something led to more usage? Would you start indulging in some nose candy if it became illegal?

    thinking cocaine isn't readily available as is
    Seriously? I know a lot of people my age that would still like to do some coke now and then but don't because they have a family. These are parents who probably still drink too much and haven't gotten rid of all the vices you can enjoy when you're younger with less responsibilities. You give them the opportunity to buy coke without any legal repercussions and it's going to become a problem.

    at you thinking coke is as readily available as booze or cigarettes for the majority of the country.

  6. #31
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    No, I really don't. What would make you think it would? Do you have any evidence of situations where legalizing something led to more usage? Would you start indulging in some nose candy if it became illegal?

    thinking cocaine isn't readily available as is
    I assume you meant, "legal". and yeah, I probably would snort some coke now and then if it was legal. And I think I'm responsible enough to control it so it didn't up my home life or work. But there would be a lot of people that wouldn't and it would be devastating for their family.

    I really can't believe that you don't think legalizing a highly addictive drug like cocaine would not lead to more addiction in the U.S.

    And quit comparing it to booze and cigarettes. It's not even close.

  7. #32
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    You don't think the cartels would adjust the price? I really don't know...it's why I brought it up.
    Did the bootleggers in the 1920s successfully "adjust pricing" after prohibiting ended to compete with legit brewing companies or was the black market for alcohol basically done after prohibition ended?

    So, if cocaine was legalized, would they still make it in S. America? Or would they be able to grow the cocoa plants here? If they were grown here and manufactured by American companies, would the cartels be able to undercut the prices and taxes? All I hear is "legalize it" but I'd like to hear how it would all work.
    First off, you're kidding yourself if you think legalizing cocaine would mean any idiot would be able to go to CVS and over the counter cocaine.

    Second, you're naively assuming there'd be some astronomical e in demand. There aren't millions of people out their anxiously awaiting the legalization of cocaine before they all become fiends. Cocaine being illegal isn't what's deterring people from doing it (however given you're logic maybe that's what's deterring you), the health effects of it deter people, which wouldn't change. It's conceivable legalizing cocaine would decrease usage over time.

    It's perfectly legal to chug laundry detergent yet somehow I can't remember the last story I heard of someone who died because of consuming too much laundry detergent. Must be a miracle.

    Thirdly, yes there'd probably be domestic production. Cartels would lose control over the industry and wouldn't be able to finance all of their other illegal activity.



    Also, wouldn't health insurance premiums rise for all of us to cover the cost of additional drug testing?
    If cocaine and other hardcore drugs were to become legalized, it would also need to come with an overhaul to this country's healthcare system, namely what health insurances have to cover or what coverage uninsured people get. As I've said already, if someone has a self-inflicted health issue from drug use and can't finance treatment, the taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize that person.

    The fact that you bring up "drug testing" only further proves my point. Even with legalized cocaine, it would be just as hard for an addict to get and keep a job, and the general public would have the same negative view of cocaine and its users as it does now.

  8. #33
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    Seriously? I know a lot of people my age that would still like to do some coke now and then but don't because they have a family. These are parents who probably still drink too much and haven't gotten rid of all the vices you can enjoy when you're younger with less responsibilities. You give them the opportunity to buy coke without any legal repercussions and it's going to become a problem.

    at you thinking coke is as readily available as booze or cigarettes for the majority of the country.
    Well first, sounds like you hang out with a lot of white trash . Believe it or not, most people who have families to take care of are responsible and the thought of doing coke doesn't cross their mind. Shocking, I know.

    Second, this makes no sense and contradicted itself. If their family is preventing them from doing coke, that won't change if it becomes legal. If them doing coke would result in losing their job and not being able to support their family, then they wouldn't do it if they cared about their family.

    at you thinking legalizing coke would make it as available as booze or cigarettes.

  9. #34
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    yeah, I probably would snort some coke now and then if it was legal. And I think I'm responsible enough to control it so it didn't up my home life or work.
    So then you should be able to enjoy it legally, not have to suffer because of the dip s you describe below. The whole point of living in a "free country" is being able to make decisions for yourself, not having your rights restricted because others are too stupid to make decisions for themselves.

    But there would be a lot of people that wouldn't and it would be devastating for their family.
    People in this country who need cocaine to be illegal in order to not become an addict are stupid, worthless human beings who I'd love to see die off over time and stop reproducing/having a family. You're also grossly over estimating how many people are that stupid/irresponsible, and also underestimating how many of those people aren't doing coke illegally.

    I really can't believe that you don't think legalizing a highly addictive drug like cocaine would not lead to more addiction in the U.S.
    I don't hang around a lot of white trash. Most intelligent people don't need the government telling them what is/isn't bad.

  10. #35
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    Did the bootleggers in the 1920s successfully "adjust pricing" after prohibiting ended to compete with legit brewing companies or was the black market for alcohol basically done after prohibition ended?
    And this eliminated the organized crime problem in the U.S.? I know we're talking about 2 different issues but this was the original question in this thread. How to eliminate the cartels and the violence.



    First off, you're kidding yourself if you think legalizing cocaine would mean any idiot would be able to go to CVS and over the counter cocaine.

    Second, you're naively assuming there'd be some astronomical e in demand.
    I didn't say that. I said that legalizing cocaine would lead to more cocaine addiction in the U.S.


    There aren't millions of people out their anxiously awaiting the legalization of cocaine before they all become fiends. Cocaine being illegal isn't what's deterring people from doing it (however given you're logic maybe that's what's deterring you), the health effects of it deter people, which wouldn't change.
    No, there aren't millions of people waiting to become coke fiends. Just like alcoholics didn't plan on becoming an alcoholic when they took their first drink. But again, I don't think you can compare the first drink with the first bump of coke.

    And the legality and availability of it absolutely do influence whether a large number of people use it or not.

    Some will be responsible enough to use it recreationally but a large portion will not.

    It's conceivable legalizing cocaine would decrease usage over time.
    It's more conceivable that it will increase.

    It's perfectly legal to chug laundry detergent yet somehow I can't remember the last story I heard of someone who died because of consuming too much laundry detergent. Must be a miracle.
    Oh...yes...they're the same thing...

    Thirdly, yes there'd probably be domestic production. Cartels would lose control over the industry and wouldn't be able to finance all of their other illegal activity.
    Do you have any basis for saying "probably be domestic production"? Can you efficiently grow cocoa here in this climate? Or would you need climate controlled greenhouses? I don't know. Or would it be synthetic?



    If cocaine and other hardcore drugs were to become legalized, it would also need to come with an overhaul to this country's healthcare system, namely what health insurances have to cover or what coverage uninsured people get. As I've said already, if someone has a self-inflicted health issue from drug use and can't finance treatment, the taxpayers shouldn't have to subsidize that person.

    The fact that you bring up "drug testing" only further proves my point. Even with legalized cocaine, it would be just as hard for an addict to get and keep a job, and the general public would have the same negative view of cocaine and its users as it does now.
    I was saying that the health insurance companies would need to test all applicants for drug use. And that cost would get passed on to everyone. Not just the users. And by eliminating the users from being able to get insurance, the cost would be even higher to those that didn't use.

  11. #36
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    If cigarettes were taxed fully to offset the taxpayer expensive of caring for uninsured smokers with cancer (400K lung cancer deaths/year), then there would be a black market in cigarettes, including counterfit cigs.

    But you can't refuse to impose a tax because of the problem of black marketing.

    Cigarrettes are taxed quite heavily actually

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigaret...ette_tax_rates

  12. #37
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    the cig (or gasoline) tax should be national policy so that there would be no grey/black marketing across state borders.

    http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/07/...tobacco-taxes/

    If cig taxes didn't work, then the criminal cig companies wouldn't buy so many legislators to kill/reduce the cig taxes.

    If you want tax policy to change guide social behavior (like stop smoking or switch to fuel efficient cars), the tax must be damn near punitive.

  13. #38
    Monuments DisAsTerBot's Avatar
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    lol people who would go out and do coke cause it's legal

  14. #39
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    Holland and Portugal have shown that legalizing drugs results in a stable population of drug users.

  15. #40
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    lol people who would go out and do coke cause it's legal
    LOL all you want. The number is bigger than you think. 40 year old married with children isn't going to risk losing all that to score some coke on a Friday night going out with his friends. But make it legal and available at a store...

  16. #41
    Monuments DisAsTerBot's Avatar
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    a "stable population"...as in doesn't increase once legalized?

  17. #42
    Monuments DisAsTerBot's Avatar
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    LOL all you want. The number is bigger than you think. 40 year old married with children isn't going to risk losing all that to score some coke on a Friday night going out with his friends. But make it legal and available at a store...
    yeah all the 40 year old family men and women I know are just waiting to do some lines once the govt says it's cool. If you're 40 and haven't done drugs yet, don't start, legal or not.

  18. #43
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    a "stable population"...as in doesn't increase once legalized?
    approximately, yes. If people want drugs, they will get them, legal or illegal.

    If they don't want them, making them legal doesn't induce them to use them.

  19. #44
    Monuments DisAsTerBot's Avatar
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    approximately, yes. If people want drugs, they will get them, legal or illegal.

    If they don't want them, making them legal doesn't induce them to use them.
    my thoughts exactly. You'd have to be some kind of re to automatically want them because your govt said it's legal. I don't suddenly have the urge to marry a man

  20. #45
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  21. #46
    I play pretty, no? TeyshaBlue's Avatar
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    Holland and Portugal have shown that legalizing drugs results in a stable population of drug users.
    Except in Holland, foreigners/tourists can no longer purchase drugs.

  22. #47
    Veteran cantthinkofanything's Avatar
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    yeah all the 40 year old family men and women I know are just waiting to do some lines once the govt says it's cool. If you're 40 and haven't done drugs yet, don't start, legal or not.
    I'm talking about the ones that did do drugs when they were younger.

  23. #48
    i hunt fenced animals clambake's Avatar
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    i don't want to get my drugs at the pharmacy. i want dark alleys and a chance of murder involved.

  24. #49
    I don't really care... Yonivore's Avatar
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    seriously?

    how many boxes of cigarrettes and liquor have you bought from the black market?
    If I lived on the Canadian border and smoked, that'd be an interesting answer. But, to your point, there is a pretty lucrative black market from Canada and Mexico for liquor, smokes, and prescription drugs.

    That's why I advocate simply decriminalizing drugs. No taxes, no laws, no regulation. If you want to grow it, make it, sell it, buy it, smoke it, shoot it, share it with your friends and strangers...go for it.

    There are plenty of criminal laws against most of the illegal activities in which people might engage to pursue a non-criminal drug enterprise. If you worried about self-destructive behaviors and health issues related to drug abuse -- get in line behind those of us who are similarly sick of the same issues related to smoking and alcohol abuse.

    That would put the cartels out of business.

  25. #50
    I don't really care... Yonivore's Avatar
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    You don't think the cartels would adjust the price?
    It would drop below a price for which taking a human life is no longer the minor element in a risk/reward calculation.

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