The war on drugs, as waged, is silly. Even black markets are subject to supply and demand, ergo, if you reduce supply, prices rise, and more people enter the market.

What I propose is the government cut seized drugs with chemical markers, agents that make people puke or otherwise cause discomfort, and other elements, and then re-release them on the market.

The drug takers will experience adverse reactions, cease to trust the illegal drug supply, and thusly demand will drop accordingly.

If we reduce the demand and quality of drugs enough, it will cease to be profitable enough for the farmers/druglords to grow them and they will switch to legal enterprises.
-- Madai, Dec 01 2004

And at a glance, I thought this was going to be a coalition of footwear manufacturers battling pharmaceuticals.
-- normzone, Dec 01 2004


How about we just end the silly war on drugs altogether?
-- Noexit, Dec 01 2004


or....
-- yabba do yabba dabba, Dec 01 2004


//agents that make people puke or otherwise cause discomfort//

Like more drugs?

//The drug takers will experience adverse reactions//

Like they don't already?

//cease to trust the illegal drug supply//

Like they do already?

//and thusly demand will drop accordingly.//

Or, drug suppliers that can, somehow, source better quality drugs will now find themselves the centre of the market. Demand stays the same, but supply drops. Prices go up. Crime goes up.

Drugs don't work quite like other economies, particularly in the sense of manipulating demand.
-- Detly, Dec 02 2004


They tried this with paraquat on marijuana in the 1970s. It just poisoned people. They tried this with alcohol in the 1930s. It just poisoned people. People do not use illegal drugs because they are concerned about their health.
-- bungston, Dec 02 2004


Or, in fact, legal drugs.
-- Detly, Dec 02 2004


The slimy music industry is doing the same thing somewhat effectively by flooding P2P networks with songs laced with junk...
-- cowtamer, Nov 23 2006



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