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If the shit were legal, there wouldn't be any money in it.
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I'm curious why people say this. Pot is booming business in the places where it is legal. We're seeing more accidents here, and despite having essentially decriminalized possession of harder drugs, vastly increased property crime rates.
Even IF the government sells drugs, at low prices, and no one else makes a profit, where do the druggies get the money? Eventually, they get it from you, by stealing your things. Because they have already stolen from their friends and families, and now they will steal from strangers. "Money" affects crime rates, and violence rates, certainly the "war on drugs" creates an environment where criminal groups can make "money". But most of these groups would be committing crimes anyway - fraud schemes, theft rings, etc. Opiates are a form of Russian roulette, some can dabble, and get out, some get dead.
A prescription opiate habit can cost upwards of $300 a day (yes, I know it can cost more in some areas and at some dosages). My experience has been that the migration from prescription opiates to heroin comes when individuals run out the income stream required to buy prescription, and heroin can cost 1/2 to 1/3 as much, for the same "quantity".