In his 2023 piece, "Drugs, a Misunderstood Industry," Fred Reed turns his attention on the drug war: " useful to politicians, heavily funded, but producing no results." As he notes, no one really wants to end the drug trade:
Not the users. Not those in the trade. Not those on salary to pursue narcos: If you make your living by trying to solve a problem, the last thing you want to do is to succeed. And not those reaping billions yearly. Why would they want to dry up the endlessly recurring fortunes?
Let’s face it: Drugs are a stable and valued part of the international commercial landscape, like oil, semiconductors, or wheat. It employs millions, makes billions, keeps blacks under control, supplies and endless flow of hapless lowlifes for America’s commercial prisons. Its income is tax-free and, as America’s financial conditions worsen, demand for drugs will increase.
Read the whole thing.
The Far East has the right idea.
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