| richardhutnik said: On this note, I want to discuss a bit about black markets. For those who advocate totally free markets, unregulated by any sort and without any sort, where NO ONE can go to the authorities to blow the whistle, how well do they work, particularly regarding something like drugs? Does having no government oversight, which would come from legalizing them, make them superior to legal products sold? |
That's a rather extreme proposition, but generally speaking I suppose whether or not it's "better" depends on whether you trust consumers to decide for themselves what is the better product or trust the government to force companies (who happen to employ armies of lobbyists) to make a better product.
With narcotics in particular, I'd be quite surprised if government oversight made them less safe than they already are or anything like that. But having to comply with government regulations would certainly make them more expensive. And even the most ardent pro-legalization people tend to support age restrictions similar to those for alcohol, but keep in mind that the underage market is a huge one, so that would be just one more reason for the continuination of the black market.
