Competition for Ecstasy
Via Dim Post there is an article from the Herald discussing competition in the illicit drug market. The main point is:
Ecstasy dealers are competing “like Pepsi and Coke” to sell their drug
Now, after reading this statement my first reaction was “good!”
Why? Well, if their is competition in the industry it will improve quality – ensuring that the current information problem in the market, that leads to a lower quality and possibly more damaging product, are being circumvented by the competitive process!
Of course, the article doesn’t take this tack. It says something about blah blah blah, people are taking drugs, blah blah blah, drugs are bad, blah blah blah, talking about drugs is immoral, blah – I don’t know, I sort of got bored of the article once I realised it was talking a load of sh*t.
So, in conclusion, competition for the provision of drugs is good – long live sites where people can compare experiences and provide information for future potential drug takers, so that they are fully informed and can make a sensible decision. Furthermore, long live competition in the industry – ensuring that we get a more efficient allocation of drugs in society.
Especially considering NZ’s apparent drug policy is one of harm reduction.
Any website that lists which drugs that have dangerous adulterants, is in effect helping to reduce drug harm.
Of course most of the anti drug crowd would rather see NZ’s youth be harmed by drugs, so that they could turn around and tut tut at how bad they are.
@MikeE
I always forget how much of a benefit “moral superiority” provides people.
The problem is that it’s hard to find products that get great reviews. One supplier gets rave reviews from consumers and the next thing you know he’s in jail! I think the current law really hurts the quality of information available to consumers, which hugely diminishes the potential consumer surplus available.
@rauparaha
Agreed
I totally agree with you. People need to look at the bigger picture.