Wednesday, October 18, 2017
Well, there goes the marijuana...
Apparently, one victim of the California wildfires has been that state's marijuana-growing industry, which is centered in three northern counties. This is happening right before the legal recreational marijuana market opens up there, too.
So what does it mean? In short, prices will be higher-- just like anything else where supply is restricted. The same was true with illegal marijuana, of course. I'm constantly baffled how our approach to illegal drugs ignores the way markets work. We assume that constricting supply will "cure" the drug problem. That's just not realistic. It can, at best, temporarily raise the price, and that might be a good thing, but it is neither dramatic nor lasting so long as demand continues.
And why do Americans like drugs so much? And shouldn't that be the first question we ask, not the last one?
So what does it mean? In short, prices will be higher-- just like anything else where supply is restricted. The same was true with illegal marijuana, of course. I'm constantly baffled how our approach to illegal drugs ignores the way markets work. We assume that constricting supply will "cure" the drug problem. That's just not realistic. It can, at best, temporarily raise the price, and that might be a good thing, but it is neither dramatic nor lasting so long as demand continues.
And why do Americans like drugs so much? And shouldn't that be the first question we ask, not the last one?
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I’ve always thought that Americans like drugs so much as they deaden or soften the realization that many things we’ve been taught to pursue for the sake of fulfillment and security also happen to typically be the most shallow and vapid substitutions for real and personal connection. Instead of being taught and learning that showing and experiencing genuine love to each other through selflessness and service as a function of society bring real worth and value to our lives, we’ve decided somewhere along the way that people should quit making excuses for their personal failings because they’re only a result of their own shortcomings or bad decisions, and things like stock price and profit and winning and the size of your 401k and maximum profitability are more important than community or looking out for the little guy. We’ve been lied to but people struggle to see any other way, so why not just be tranquilized?
It's one of the questions we should ask, yes. We can ask the same question, however, about binge drinking and owning multiple assault rifles. Those things are potentially more harmful and reflect a need to dampen fears as much as smoking pot does.
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: 10:09 AM
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