Drugs and stuff

So now I'm going to write about intoxicating substances like drugs and alcohol etc. Just for the record I'm not taking sides I'm just telling what I think.

"Drugs are bad, OK?!" said the school counselor in South park. Authorities tell drugs are bad for you. I tell you that authorities telling you something is bad for you. Again not defending drugs but there I said it anyway. Authorities do their very best to keep you uninformed of new ways that could turn you from a profitable unit into a burden. As long as the narcotic substance could make you unprofitable for the society it's not worth the 6 o'clock news. There are other things that make you a burden but I'm concentrating of drugs this time.

I believe that the modern society works like this (one branch of it anyway if you simplify it big time):
It's carefully calculated that drugs are less of a burden on the streets where only fraction of the people suffer from the side effects. And only a fraction of these are so messed up that they've become unprofitable units to the society. Actually calculating this isn't that difficult. You only need annual estimate of the money that circulates in the criminal organizations and then you know ruffly how much money your country is loosing every year to some criminals pockets.

The day when there are so many drug users and the money that goes into the pockets of gangs is greater than the expenses that goes into the total equation of drug users is the day when the government is going to take over the drug business. After that they do their best to make it profitable for the society. Might work, might not work.

So the equation:
estimated money in drug business > (is greater than) money that is lost in things like productivity per person per year. Then you multiply this amount with the number of drug users. These cost are persons productivity, taxes, health care, authorities that are needed to stop the person from buying drugs, education, etc...

When this equation comes true it means that government will introduce it's people new legal chemical that makes them feel funny.

So what are the benefits? Well the government can start collecting tax revenues from this new product. Police can start using resources to more acute problems like harder drugs. More tourist if you are not the last country to legalize this product. Stronger control over people. Number of crimes decreases. etc..

In Netherlands marijuana is legal. I don't believe it was something they initially wanted but it just happened when things got out of hand. Today I believe it's a profitable business for the country. Tourist pour in and people are still making money for the government. Yes yes yes, I know there are downsides but this post isn't about those things.

Let's take an older example. Very similar to this one dealing with drugs. Year 1919 in Finland. Selling, manufacturing, importing, storing of alcohol was prohibited by the law. Definition of alcohol = drinks that contain more than 2% ethanol. These products were only legal when used on medical, scientific or technical purposes. Sounds familiar? When alcohol was banned in USA organized crime took over the selling of alcohol. We all know what had to be done after a while. In Finland this happened in year 1931 when over 70% of Finns voted to end the ban.

Nowadays alcohol related deaths are 3rd or 4th most common reason of deaths in Finland. Long gone are the days when selling alcohol was profitable for the authorities. Now their just trying to get the most out of the business. If the wise men of this country were facing 4 new drugs that were just found: alcohol, tobacco, marijuana and cocaine, and they had to ban only two. Which two would they choose? Or would it be wiser to legalize all? What would be the smartest way to make profit from these drugs? Let's face it. They need the money. Our society don't run on good will. At least not yet. What's the answer to all these questions? I have no idea. I'm just throwing ideas and opinions in to the air. I trust my own brain on these things and not the authorities.

The ultimate question is: Why don't people doubt any of the of the stuff that is happening around them? I know this much: the big problem we are facing is not drugs, high oil price, small rise in salaries or high taxes, it's something totally different.


Legalize brains!


The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.mp3
-Gill Scott Heron-