quote:

Originally posted by nchs09 Plus the prices on the street right now are higher than what it would cost to produce + tax.

I don't know that it is (at least not across the board).

Good pot takes a lot of time and a fair bit of a financial investment to pull off successfully on a continuous basis.

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You just need to lace it with right kind of harmful toxins.

Oh man, that must be what everyone else is doing!



It all makes sense, I've been wrong all along!

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quote:

Originally posted by RJT I really do see far more upside to its legalization than down, especially when it's illegal status is based almost entirely on people's ignorance.

Same here. I'm just trying to look at both sides of the issue, and bringing up what might be some valid concerns rather than the usual scaremongering (as exemplified in this thread by Theresa's posts).

What do you think about a more general scheme of legalization (from MJ all the way to meth, heroin, and so on)?

Some of the "harder" and more addictive drugs have a much closer association with other kinds of criminality than marijuana does, with people stealing to support habits, committing crimes under the influence, and being generally more unstable than your average person who just smokes pot. IMO, even if very addictive drugs like meth and heroin were legalized, "legit" businesses still wouldn't take them under their umbrella simply because of the social stigma, and so you'd still have an unregulated and underground market providing the stuff, basically a similar situation to what we currently have, except addicts would no longer be criminalized (which would surely be a good thing).

My assessment is that on the whole it would still be positive, but not nearly as trouble-free as some would like to make it out.

quote:

Originally posted by jennypie You just need to lace it with right kind of harmful toxins.

I'm glad we're on the same page here

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15 or 20 bucks should be the price after taxes i would imagine.

Obviously everyone pays different but in Atlanta a good 8th is 50. So even if it was 20, that would mean it would be 20 dollars more for an 8th. Do you really think people would go to a drug dealer for 20 dollars?


Well i guess someone would.. i wouldnt wtf.

quote:

Originally posted by MrJiveBoJingles Same here. I'm just trying to look at both sides of the issue, and bringing up what might be some valid concerns rather than the usual scaremongering (as exemplified in this thread by Theresa's posts). What do you think about a more general scheme of legalization (from MJ all the way to meth, heroin, and so on)? Some of the "harder" and more addictive drugs have a much closer association with other kinds of criminality than marijuana does, with people stealing to support habits, committing crimes under the influence, and being generally more unstable than your average person who just smokes pot. IMO, even if very addictive drugs like meth and heroin were legalized, "legit" businesses still wouldn't take them under their umbrella simply because of the social stigma, and so you'd still have an unregulated and underground market providing the stuff, basically a similar situation to what we currently have, except addicts would no longer be criminalized (which would surely be a good thing). My assessment is that on the whole it would still be positive, but not nearly as trouble-free as some would like to make it out.

Well I think the divide you're bringing up here between soft and hard drugs illustrates nicely the problems with legalization in general. I don't know that I think across the board legalization is the way to go, but the problem is that with the criminalization of drugs like methamphetamines and heroin you have the biproduct of making addicts of these drugs criminals, and relegating their care to the judicial system rather than treating them like addicts.

To be honest, I really don't have a good "solution" (much to emc^2's chagrin yet again, I'm sure) that I think we can just magically put in place and have everything work out. I am, however, inclined to push for decriminalization of possession of "small" amounts of pretty much any drug. I don't think it's very likely that you'll find a large number of methamphetamine or heroin addicts pushing large quantities of the drugs they do (addiction just doesn't work that way - at least not for long), and since treatment, rather than incarceration, seems to be the pretty clear choice of the medical community as to how to treat addicts, constantly putting people in jail for possession of small amounts of controlled substances appears to only be counterproductive.

I hesitate to just say "Open the floodgates and let those who can't handle their own addictions destroy themselves", as I don't think there is redeeming value in having methamphetamines or heroin available to the general populous. I just worry that there's some inherent hypocrisy there that might undermine the entire argument for legalization, so I hesitate to offer a plan in terms other than hypotheticals. I'd assume that a big part (or at least a decent part) of the reason drugs like marijuana remain illegal is because there aren't a ton of folks who really have.

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quote:

Originally posted by nchs09 15 or 20 bucks should be the price after taxes i would imagine. Obviously everyone pays different but in Atlanta a good 8th is 50. So even if it was 20, that would mean it would be 20 dollars more for an 8th. Do you really think people would go to a drug dealer for 20 dollars? Well i guess someone would.. i wouldnt wtf.

$50 for a good bag here as well, which means you're paying approximately $14 a gram already - so you're basically saying price won't really be affected at all.

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damn potheads.

Damn hippie degenerates!

quote:

Originally posted by RJT $50 for a good bag here as well, which means you're paying approximately $14 a gram already - so you're basically saying price won't really be affected at all.

Production itself is not what brings prices, even though it is a big part of it. The number of times product changes hands brings the prices up.