Tagged: prohibition

Featured image: Almost anything beats prohibition, including the draft cannabis legislation

Almost anything beats prohibition, including the draft cannabis legislation - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • May 06, 2020 •

The draft cannabis legislation, as written, is better than prohibition. Even without amendment, those inclined to vote should vote for it. There’s still a lot in it that I don’t like though. The prohibition on growers also running retail operations, presumably intended to prevent large commercial grow operations with vertically integrated retailers, will also prevent anyone from running the kinds … Read More

Legal highs - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Jan 16, 2015 •

NZ had something beautiful in its framework for sale of psychoactive substances that hadn't already otherwise been banned. Show that they're safe, and you can sell them.Ross Bell shows how it went wrong from there.The number of retail outlets for "legal highs" was slashed, from as many as 4000 to fewer than 170. The number of products fell from … Read More

Meth dealers and baptists - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Jan 12, 2015 •

In Yandle's story, you need a mix of bootleggers and Baptists to get really bad policy. The Baptists provide the moral veneer for some atrocious policy, like alcohol prohibition, while the bootleggers quietly provide the cash to make sure things go smoothly. Nowadays, perhaps it's the meth dealers serving as bootleggers. Methamphetamine may be more popular in areas of … Read More

The Price of Weed - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Jul 17, 2014 •

Tim Worstall's likely right about the price of marijuana in a fully free market. He notes that the price of marijuana per kilogramme, in Malawi, where much international tobacco production takes place, runs as low as $3, so a pack of 20 joints would be maybe about $0.50. He makes a few predictions as consequence:So, yes, I feel confident … Read More

Legal marijuana markets - The Dismal Science

Eric Crampton • Oct 01, 2013 •

Business Insider has a great write-up on Colorado's legalised marijuana markets. Currently restricted to medical marijuana sold through dispensaries, recreational use without prescription will be legal and anyone will be able to purchase from the dispensaries. They're expecting to raise $130m in taxes, although the tax mechanism is rather opaque. IRS won't let you take business deductions on … Read More