Wealthy Americans... Who's Using It?

[greenbuddha]

 

US IL: PUB LTE: Wealthy Americans And Drug Use

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URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v11/n642/a02.html

Newshawk: Kirk

Votes: 1

Pubdate: Mon, 31 Oct 2011

Source: Chicago Tribune (IL)

Copyright: 2011 Chicago Tribune Company

Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/IuiAC7IZ

Website: http://www.chicagotribune.com/

Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/82

Author: Chester Baran

 

<P class=clipping>WEALTHY AMERICANS AND DRUG USE

 

I am baffled by the economics of the illegal drug trade. If expenses include raw material, manufacturing, transportation, distribution and protection, where does the profit arise? What we read in print and see on TV is an inner-city market of junkies and venturesome, suburbanite teens, sporadic usage by middle class adults and uninhibited usage by the thrill-seeking or stressed-out wealthy.

 

There can't be much money in selling to junkies and teens so, if there are a big profit to be made, then it has to come from middle class and wealthy users. If that is so, then the citizens who are considered to be the bedrock of our society are at the same time the cash cow for the drug trade. If the middle class and wealth are supposed to be what we aspire toward, why worry about the effects of drugs on our society when drugs have already infected the society's movers and shakers with little consequences to them?

 

If drugs are indeed a problem, then our efforts to control them should be directed at the source of drug profits. If we choose not to do that, legalizing drugs should not be such a frightening prospect to consider because they seem to not to have done harm to our most prominent citizens.

 

- -- Chester Baran, Gary, Ind.

MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

 

 

[tylerdirden]

good point