Authorities and people familiar with the drug trade say violence in Mexico and increased enforcement -- symbolized by the Flores case -- are having a dramatic effect on Chicago street sales, at least for now. The wholesale price for a kilo of cocaine -- about 2.2 pounds -- has spiked over the past 18 months, from $18,000 to $29,000 and often more, according to authorities.I wonder if the unnamed "authorities" in question are being deliberately misleading, or if they simply lack the sense to notice what they just said. The increase in the wholesale price of cocaine ends up, as such increases normally do, in the pockets of the people selling it.
What they have just said is that increased enforcement has increased profits for drug lords dramatically.
December 31 2009, 21:29:22 UTC 5 years ago
The government could utterly destroy the drug trade by producing and distributing drugs at production cost. Since, as you point out, demand for drugs is fairly inelastic, it would not significantly increase drug use.
It would dramatically reduce the amount of crime committed by junkies who need to get money for their next fix. It would also reduce emergency room visits and deaths from accidental overdoses due to low quality product.
There would likely need to be a cluster of laws to prevent abuse (eg heavy penalties for driving under the influence or distributing to minors) but I think this could work very well.
December 31 2009, 21:36:44 UTC 5 years ago
A politically completely infeasible strategy, granted, but one which would actually achieve the stated aims...