Mises Article: What Explains Crystal Meth?

[ronpaulhawaii]

A great article highlighting the unintended consequences of the War on Drugs. History should have taught us that Prohibition empowers the growth of criminal enterprise. How quickly people seem to forget...

http://mises.org/daily/4971

From the article:


The scourge of crystal meth is another example of the "potency effect" or what has been called the "iron law of prohibition." When government enacts a prohibition, increases enforcement, or increases penalties on a good such as alcohol or drugs, it inevitably results in substitution to more adulterated, more potent, and more dangerous drugs.

In the case of crystal meth, authorities have tried to restrict the supply of the basic ingredient, which is a common component in cold medications. They required that such medications be sold in pharmacies from behind the counter and limited to a one-month supply. More recently, some states have required that buyers be tracked electronically to prevent purchasing from multiple pharmacies.

In response, meth producers have recruited large numbers of intermediaries, including their friends, relatives, college students, and even children and the homeless...

[FindLiberty]

....recruited large numbers of intermediaries, including their friends, relatives,
college students, and even children and the homeless...

Create jobs, Jobs, JOBS !!!

We need jobs...though this is not an ideal solution. (i.e., "drug mule job").

[vita3]

Such a shame to see a person who has done crytal meth.. it's like the vital life juiced have been sucked out of em

[Anti Federalist]

Once again, a government sponsored poison starts with...government.

I wonder sometimes, that, like tobacco, whether government is fucking with us just for the lulz by prohibiting substances that, for years, they passed out and subsidized.





In 1943, Abbott Laboratories requested for its approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of narcolepsy, mild depression, postencephalitic parkinsonism, chronic alcoholism, cerebral arteriosclerosis, and hay fever. Methamphetamine was approved for all of these indications in December, 1944.[citation needed] All of these indication approvals were eventually removed.[citation needed] The only two approved marketing indications remaining for methamphetamine are for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the short-term management of exogenous obesity, although the drug is clinically established as effective in the treatment of narcolepsy.[9]
[edit] World War II

One of the earliest uses of methamphetamine was during World War II, when it was used by Axis and Allied forces

[Elwar]

What company would ever be able to get away with selling meth without getting sued for billions daily?

Make it legal, hold the dealers liable for what they distribute.

[oyarde]

I cannot believe anyone would read the ingredients and think it would be a good thing ? .....

[dannno]

I cannot believe anyone would read the ingredients and think it would be a good thing ? .....

Ultimately there is only one ingredient in methamphetamine, which is methametamine, under the assumption that it is clean.. of course that's a huge assumption, especially with the black market. But various nasty ingredients do go into making the chemical reaction that causes it to occur. It's sort of like if you put cow manure in the ingredients of a breakfast cereal because cow manure was used to fertilize the corn fields.. instead it just lists corn.

I think a lot of the harm that occurs with these drugs are due to the nasty impurities. The drugs themselves are highly addictive and dangerous with heavy, longterm use, but not nearly as dangerous as when you have all of these nasty impurities mixed in. If it were legal, then people would be able to find cheap supplies of the substances without the impurities. I also think people would ultimately use safer alternatives to a lot of these highly addictive drugs like meth, or they would do a lot less. When kids who can't buy beer get beer, they drink it as fast as possible because they don't know when they will be able to get more. Same with drugs, you never know when your supplier might dry up or go out of town, etc..

[fisharmor]

I cannot believe anyone would read the ingredients and think it would be a good thing ? .....

Why?
People drink civet coffee all the time.
Some people think cheese isn't good until it's molded.
Then there's Lutefisk and Surströmming.
Some sushi places serve sea urchin.

None of that stuff is euphoric or addictive.
A lot of it costs more than meth, too.

I'll tell you what, though: every time I went robotripping in my youth, or huffed furniture polish, it was first, foremost, and always because nobody had any weed.

[oyarde]

Why?
People drink civet coffee all the time.
Some people think cheese isn't good until it's molded.
Then there's Lutefisk and Surströmming.
Some sushi places serve sea urchin.

None of that stuff is euphoric or addictive.
A lot of it costs more than meth, too.

I'll tell you what, though: every time I went robotripping in my youth, or huffed furniture polish, it was first, foremost, and always because nobody had any weed.

You do not need batteries , fertilizer & cold medicine to make sushi , blue cheese etc

[pcosmar]

What company would ever be able to get away with selling meth without getting sued for billions daily?

Make it legal, hold the dealers liable for what they distribute.

Why would any company sell a crap product if they could sell a quality product for the same or cheaper?

Companies would be competing for customers with better quality and price.
"Meth" is the Black Market response to government interference.