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24A043 Drugs in the ZGS by Jim Davies, 11/5/2024
Last month the Columbian rulers located and arrested a "major drug kingpin", one Gustavo Nocella, and the Policia celebrated the feat - no doubt with round upon round of some other intoxicating substance. Drug prohibition is an important subject. Without government to forbid them, what will happen? I've no expertese in the relative merits of different kinds of drugs usually illegal, though many years ago I did catch a whiff or two of marijuana and, unlike Bill Clinton, I did inhale. It rapidly provided a pleasant, relaxing high, such as might be achieved from a whiskey and several chasers, but I found there were sharp differences: (a) the smoke taste was foul, compared to the rich flavors of Scotch or Bourbon, but (b) there was no hangover. So there are pluses and minuses. To me the taste is the more important factor so my experiment (in the interest of science, of course) was not repeated. There is no chemical addiction from pot, and it's a "gateway" to other, stronger drugs only in the sense that one may wish to experiment with other drugs too. It's at that point that danger enters the scene; once chemicals take charge of the mind, big trouble can result. One's value in the work force is reduced along with failure to focus, and life spirals down, perhaps to an untimely death. So once the fear of imprisonment is removed along with government, what gives? First, the prices of all drugs will drop like rocks, because all the secrecy, risk and bribery that goes along with today's distribution networks will disappear. Coke will command a price similar to aspirin. So, at first glance, more will be used, yes? Probably so, at least at first; basic economics say it will. That means more youngsters will be spaced out, more will crash and die. Then the word will get around, and self-preservation will kick in for the survivors, and demand will return to about its prior level. Or less, perhaps, since the "forbidden fruit" factor will be missing. Nobody need be alarmed by the possiblity that this short-term increase in demand and use will bring society down in ruin. The drug scene will be very similar to what it was prior to the late 19th Century, when the first anti-drug laws were enacted. They were aimed at Chinese immigrants, who enjoyed the use of opium; there was resentment by unskilled Americans that those newcomers were taking their jobs (that is, working for lower wages that the natives wanted.) Since those natives could vote, they got government to harass the Chinese with the prohibition. But that aside, anyone could use whatever intoxicant he wanted; and as we saw last month in Migrants, that Century was the most prosperous in all history. Second, the prisoners will all be free. About half (over a million!) of all who are behind bars are there because they broke government's drug laws, so that will be a million enterprising people who join the economy and (since selling drugs will no longer yield much profit) will find productive ways to make a living. This will greatly boost prosperity all round. No DEA of course will survive E-Day, and prison guards too will be rushing to find productive work, though neither will be nearly as well qualified as the inmates they were confining. In the ZGS, there will be no demand for people who treat human beings like zoo animals, or worse. Third, wealth and kindness will increase, because the $40 billion a year it now costs to cage that million will be saved by former taxpayers - who will spend it, invest it, or give it away to good causes. Prosperity and benevolence will rise. Fourth, street krime will tumble, because the drug trade today, with its high prices and police harassment, will no longer provide the main revenue source for gangs. They may not vanish, but will be curtailed. Further, the ugly practice of trapping girls into prostitution by drugging them will collapse; if they want drugs they will need very little money. The world's oldest profession will no doubt survive, but only because the practitioners enjoy their work. All around: relative to drugs, the ZGS will be a much healthier society.
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