2 Boys in Critical Condition after taking 'Ecstasy'

Former Member

Martin_Bashir wrote:

don't ask me, ask turlough

broadly it would be fair to say most people do, and indeed its really the only consistent way to formulate policy, however as we have seen time and again on these boards it gets thrown out for reasons of expediency

And the comparison isnt exactly a great one because there is and has been for years an established legal market in alcohol. But there is no reason why with decent regulation you couldnt push at least most people into the legal market. Its not like with addictive drugs were people need the pills and dont give a toss where they come from (well most users arent like that).

Former Member

bongbudda wrote:

Why would you buy from a black market dealer? Yes of course there would be (much like alcohol) a black market to kids and others, but this would be much smaller and potentially easier to track.

bongbudda wrote:

When was the last time you bought moonshine?

The moonshine industry is alive and well in the US in the south; it's extremely profitable and yet I have yet to meet someone who embibes. Perhaps it's simply anarchists or tourists since you can easily find inexpensive commercial alcohol products.

There is even an internet black market for human breast milk in civilized countries to get it cheaper than the pasteurized screened product. Educated adults who can well afford to buy commercial human milk prefer the risk of exposing their baby to a communicable disease in order save some money in their mission to give their baby “the best”. :chin: Hardly rational; just another way to cut corners on one side and make a profit on the other.

There would be a profit driven market for the street version because it's cheaper, easier to get or someone is selling a counterfeit version as they do with everything else. Drug companies obviously have a higher operating overhead than a clandestine lab, especially if they were to pursue a proprietary brand of ecstasy (i.e. safer, better effects, lesser comedown).

In my opinion, diverted prescription drugs are more difficult to deal with than "street" drugs. There's a thin line with civil rights (i.e. prove these pills are yours), most police are not well versed in what pills look like, the large variations make it difficult to identify pills, doctor shopping, a fair amount dishonest pharmacists and doctors, and you can sell regulated drugs via the internet more easily as a bogus pharmacy.

Former Member

CuzICare wrote:

There would be a profit driven market for the street version because it's cheaper, easier to get or someone is selling a counterfeit version as they do with everything else. Drug companies obviously have a higher operating overhead than a clandestine lab, especially if they were to pursue a proprietary brand of ecstasy (i.e. safer, better effects, lesser comedown).

Yes, there would (probably) be a smaller black market in pills, makers would continue to make and sell it, but demand for black market pills would drop considerably. And of course if you knew where the real pills were coming from then tracking illegal supply would potentially be easier. And of course, legal supply isnt a perfect solution, but nothing can be, it will however be much better than the purely black market.

CuzICare wrote:

In my opinion, diverted prescription drugs are more difficult to deal with than "street" drugs. There's a thin line with civil rights (i.e. prove these pills are yours), most police are not well versed in what pills look like, the large variations make it difficult to identify pills, doctor shopping, a fair amount dishonest pharmacists and doctors, and you can sell regulated drugs via the internet more easily as a bogus pharmacy.

This is almost purely because of the way health care is an industry in the US, this need not happen if it was properly regulated.