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Mexican gangs threaten to behead DEA agents

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Snowgoner
Posts: 5047 - Karma: 964
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/07/01/national/main20076278.shtml
Jul 6 2011 12:48AM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
You are looking at this from a Utopian point of view, rather then a realistic one.

You are suggesting that our broke government:
1) buys warehouses
2) buys grow materials
3) pays people to grow marijuana
4) pays people to check and regulate the grow ops
5) pays people to distribute the drug.
6) and can do this while beating the street price the drug cartels can provide who already have production and distribution channels in place?

Also were you not arguing to disband the DEA? who would control the drug cartels from competing against the government run grow ops if the DEA was gone?

Jul 8 2011 4:59PM
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
like i said, if you undercut them, no one would buy from them. then you wouldnt need a DEA to control the cartels.

but yes i do understand where your coming from in regards to the infrastructure of the project. These are just ideas.
Jul 8 2011 6:17PM
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bobby.brown
Posts: 199 - Karma: 11
hey zag fan, nice job saying portugal is in debt because of drugs. By the way you fucking genious, so you know what is the most anti drug nation in the eu, a country so against drugs that they are the only eu country to ban the sale of codeine over the counter???? THATS RIGHT, ITS GREECE!!!! My God are you fucking stupid.... if you legalize drugs for people OVER 18 or 21... problem solved. you fucking jackasses saying 7 year olds will be smoking weed... hmm lets see, alcohol is legal, but do 7 year olds get drunk? not so much.... im sorry but if any of you think the war on drugs is good, you are likely not very smart and destined to live a meaningless, medicocre/poor life. I hope you enjoy it...
Jul 8 2011 6:18PM
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
lol where did i say their debt was a result of the legalization of drugs? please quote me sir.
Jul 8 2011 6:21PM
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bobby.brown
Posts: 199 - Karma: 11
*genius*
Jul 8 2011 6:23PM
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Huck_Norris
Posts: 11487 - Karma: 18,627
Wow you're good at this. I had no idea it was all this simple!
Jul 8 2011 6:54PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
Colombia in the 80's = Mexico now.
Jul 8 2011 7:02PM
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knows_butter
Posts: 477 - Karma: 32
Dude what is this garbage you are posting?

Let me give you a lesson on the simple economics of marijuana.

Firstly, the only reason the price of bud is so high is because it is illegal. Do you really think it costs $20 to produce 1 GRAM of cannabis? No of course it doesn't. The cost of growing a weed plant to maturity is almost nothing (outdoor grow).

For arguments sake, let's say it's $100 to raise a plant to maturity (fertilizer, pot plant, few other overheads/materials). A full grown plant can produce anywhere from 6-20+ ounces. At a price (my country at least) of $300 per ounce, that's anywhere from $1800 to $6000 (minus trivial expenses) banked per plant.

Do you think that's a fair reward for the effort to grow buds? Can you think of any other crops that attract so much profit?

Answer is no. The only reason the price of weed is so high is it's illegality. 90% of the price of weed is compensating the distributors/growers/dealers for the risk they take of being busted and going to prison. If the price was any lower they wouldn't supply it, as the monetary reward would be far outweighed by the risk of being caught.

Now, if you legalize it, any Tom Dick or Harry can go into his garage and grow it without the fear of being busted and not seeing his family for 4 years. So all of a sudden, there's this HUGE gain to be made selling weed. You don't have to do fuck all really and can make $6000+ per plant. So what happens? The market gets flooded with weed and the price consequently comes down to what it should be in a free market - probably around $40 an ounce.

You can guarantee the cartel's aren't going to bother with it at $40 an ounce. They might as well be growing corn and do you see them doing that now?

Also, street dealers will disappear almost over night.

And all your points are flawed.

1) Yes, if growing weed is profitable for the govt
2) Yes, if growing weed is profitable for the govt
3) Yes, if growing weed is profitable for the govt
4) Yes, if growing weed is profitable for the govt
5) Yes, if growing weed is profitable for the govt
6) Yes. Yes. Yes.

Read a fucking book for once.

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Jul 8 2011 9:11PM
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Charlie_Kelly
Posts: 11954 - Karma: 12,298
1. The war on drugs is good.

2. Every time you post I want to kill and infant.

3. You make almost no sense.

4. Fuck off.
Jul 8 2011 9:20PM
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bobby.brown
Posts: 199 - Karma: 11
granite state do you smoke or drink?
Jul 9 2011 12:01AM
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zagfan5
Posts: 2608 - Karma: 144
still waiting for a reply bobster...
Jul 9 2011 12:18AM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
You get raped on weed prices. $200-$250 is standard for an ounce. That price reflects supply and demand, regardless of legality. You would see a reduction in price (and cost) with making it legal. The cartels however could (and would) lower their price, they would also have the advantage of not paying government worker wages or pensions. They could destroy the government on pricing.

Also would the government net more money from getting involved in the marijuana business then they would from taxing the sale by private sector businesses? The answer to that is clearly no, the government looses money on the industries it is already in (liquer in some states).

I may not have a degree in economics or have writen a thesis on the marijuana economy, but I did stay in a holiday inn express last night...
Jul 9 2011 12:59AM
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BootySpunk.
Posts: 8148 - Karma: 84
Would you rather get an O of some extremely dank outdoor grown bud for $50 or would you rather buy an O of some terrible Mexican brick weed for $25?

My point being if prices were lowered than the margin between higher priced amazing bud and Mexican shit weed would close to a point where people would be willing to pay an extra $1-2 per gram for weed that is 10x better at least.
Jul 9 2011 12:13PM
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Charlie_Kelly
Posts: 11954 - Karma: 12,298
how is this relevant?
Jul 9 2011 2:04PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
The cartels run grow ops in the United States, according to many I know who use, the stuff is really good.
I don't work on Canadian cases but many of the same cartels appear to have large influence in many of the B.C. large scale growing.
Jul 9 2011 2:23PM
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BootySpunk.
Posts: 8148 - Karma: 84
Interesting.

Never thought Mexicans and Canadians would work together to bring in superdank from BC...sounds fucking awesome.
Jul 9 2011 2:30PM
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knows_butter
Posts: 477 - Karma: 32
The nature of perfectly competitive markets erodes your argument.

Think about apples. If apples went from being illegal to being legal and the mexicans were previously in the illegal apple trade then they would instantly stop supplying them because the price would drop so dramatically.

The price of apples is what? $2 per kg???

Sure the mexicans could undercut that price, but there's no point. At the market price they will still sell all of their apples. If they drop their price below market price, again they'll still sell all of their apples but their revenue would be less than if they sold at the market rate.

Weed is no different.
Jul 9 2011 6:58PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
Why would the price drop with a change in legality?
Jul 9 2011 9:00PM
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biglurch
Posts: 91 - Karma: 10
im rooting for the cartel!
Jul 9 2011 9:02PM
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knows_butter
Posts: 477 - Karma: 32
From my earlier post:

"Answer is no. The only reason the price of weed is so high is it's illegality. 90% of the price of weed is compensating the distributors/growers/dealers for the risk they take of being busted and going to prison. If the price was any lower they wouldn't supply it, as the monetary reward would be far outweighed by the risk of being caught.

Now, if you legalize it, any Tom Dick or Harry can go into his garage and grow it without the fear of being busted and not seeing his family for 4 years. So all of a sudden, there's this HUGE gain to be made selling weed. You don't have to do fuck all really and can make $6000+ per plant. So what happens? The market gets flooded with weed and the price consequently comes down to what it should be in a free market - probably around $40 an ounce."
Jul 9 2011 10:07PM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
I think you would do better if you worked with reallity, rather then theoretical situations. You honestly don't get it. Your two hypothetical effects are incompatible with eachother and realistic circumstances.
Jul 9 2011 11:36PM
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knows_butter
Posts: 477 - Karma: 32
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Jul 9 2011 11:45PM
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PurpleDino
Posts: 1513 - Karma: 483
I don't think you understand how a black market works.  It's straight up based on supply, demand, and RISK.
Jul 10 2011 9:23AM
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.frenchy
Posts: 18221 - Karma: 12,323
.
Jul 10 2011 11:01AM
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