Tom Wainwright believes we have lost the “War on Drugs” and we need to come up with a different strategy. Wainwright is an editor with The Economist so it shouldn’t surprise you that his approach is an economic one. It’s too easy for drug cartels to ship their product to the States (and elsewhere). It’s too easy to distribute the drugs and sell them. It’s too easy to take the money out of the country. Narconomics suggests ways Government could make all of these illegal activities much more expensive. Wainwright argues for a market-based solution to illegal drugs. The old methods haven’t worked so why not try something different? I found Wainwright’s analysis fascinating and his descriptions of the “business side” of drug dealing compelling. If you have any interest in solving our country’s drug problems, Narcoomics is a good place to start. GRADE: A
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction Cartel Incorporated
Chapter 1 Cocaine’s Supply Chain: The Cockroach Effect and the 30,000 Percent Markup
Chapter 2 Competition vs. Collusion: Why Merger Is Sometimes Better Than Murder
Chapter 3 The People Problems of a Drug Cartel: When James Bond Meets Mr. Bean
Chapter 4 PR and the Mad Men of Sinaloa: Why Cartels Care About Corporate Social Responsibility
Chapter 5 Offshoring: The Perks of Doing Business on the Mosquito Coast
Chapter 6 The Promise and Perils of Franchising: How the Mob Has Borrowed from McDonald’s
Chapter 7 Innovating Ahead of the Law: Research and Development in the “Legal Highs” Industry
Chapter 8 Ordering a Line Online: How Internet Shopping Has Improved Drug Dealers’ Customer Service
Chapter 9 Diversifying into New Markets: From Drug Smuggling to People Smuggling
Chapter 10 Coming Full Circle: How Legalization Threatens the Drug Lords
Conclusion Why Economists Make the Best Police Officers
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
Sometimes prioritizing the problems facing us is daunting. But in certain more rural areas, where there is little hope for young people, this is a huge issue.
Patti, America has a drug culture. Everyone is on some kind of drug: anti-depressants, high blood pressure medications, mood stabilizers, Ritalin, Prozac, etc. And then, there’s the illegal drugs like cheap heroin and meth. It’s a national disaster!
Amen to that, and during the evening there are more drug commercials than anything else.
Rick, Big Pharma impacts the U.S. in pervasive ways. Everyone is on medication. A big part of healthcare is the cost of drugs. And the prices only go higher.
I believe as long as there is so much money involved there is no way we can stop the drug trade, only maybe slow it down with higher profile arrests.
I don’t think that is likely at this point.
Jeff, drugs are everywhere in America. There are drugs for every income level. It’s a massive problem and no one running for President is talking about it.
That’s because they are too busy slinging mud at each other. I haven’t heard a word about issues from any of them.
Rick, the Republican Debate devolved into name-calling. Embarrassing!
I agree that the War on Drugs isn’t working, but nobody in Washington has any desire to try anything new. Nothing will change.
Bill, you’re right about the gridlock in Washington. Nothing is happening. Except the problems are all getting worse!
The Medical-Pharmasudical Complex is the biggest, wealthiest, most influential body in the country, and with the aging of Americans, it can’t be avoided. Sometimes I want to stop taking my meds and tell my doctors to go to Hell. But I can’t. If the people buying illegal drugs would use the money to better themselves in other ways there would be a lot less crime and homelessness.
Rick, many people on drugs don’t have health insurance. So when they’re sick or in pain, they smoke weed. They self-medicate because they can’t afford Real Medicine. Alcohol and marijuana are cheap, handy substitutes.
Funny, when we say “drugs” I don’t even think of alcohol or pot, as both are legal (the latter here and in other states), I think of crack coke, herion and such heavy drugs.
Rick, the diversity of drugs is astonishing. Some students take Ritalin (an ADHD drug) before an exam because they claim it helps them study.
My cousin said his son – who just became a CPA and whose ambition is to run a hedge fund – and his friends all take Adderall for “fun” and it didn’t even seem to upset them.
I hate those “ask your doctor” ads, but I do get a kick out of the list of side effects (“may cause death in some patients”) they are forced to give. Otherwise I think they should be banned.
Jeff, you’re right – those “legal drugs” are a greater danger and no one seems to care.
I’ve read somewhere that the USA has already more deaths by these drugs than by heroin etc – and it’s not much better here in Europe.
Many people here use new designer drugs, sometimes sold as research drugs or even bathing salts whose effects haven’t been studied extensively!
And they’re so cheap to get.
Seems to work again so I’m adding something not too much OT:
Did you know that meth was used under the name Pervitin in WW2 by German soldiers, mainly pilots to stay awake and concentrated?
These “Stuka tablets” were prescribed to them by their bosses …
Wolf, and I’m sure their “bosses” told them there were no side-effects.