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Originally Posted by AChimp
What about supply and demand then? You'd still be relying on drug lords for your shit until you got domestic production up to an acceptable level.
Your legal supply would have a massive pricetag due to it's virtual non-existence. The dealers still come out on top because they are the only ones with enough supply to still sell cheaply, and they won't be paying taxes.
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Is the better plan to continue the War on Drugs indefinitely, then? Criminalizing behavior doesn't stop it, and in this case, it hasn't even curtailed it. Unless someone makes the personal decision to not do drugs, or they're scared of employer testing, they do drugs. The threat of being caught is not stopping anyone. The only alternatives, short of upping the ante (which won't work,) is regulation and legalization.
Is it the government's job to manage the supply as well? Have they proven themselves successful in that regard so far? Drugs come into this country in boats, trucks and airplanes, just like DVD players and Nike Shoes. The only difference is that the trucks can now be unloaded at a store or a warehouse rather than somebody's basement.
True, the source of the drugs would still be shady folks for a while, but legitimate companies aren't allowed to compete in this industry yet.
As for the mob running a black market on cigarettes, I think that's more prevalent in states like New York, where taxes raise the prices up to close to $5/ pack. Rather than worry that a blackmarket would
emerge, I'd ask you what it is the prohibition has already created. Black markets are caused by government sanctions, not free trade. Black markets
are free trade, and the most effective form of that is the legal one, not the one where you run a constant risk of jail time.