On Aug 20, 2010, at 7:10 PM, martin wrote:
> It has appeared to me for quite some time that the state is in the
> process of taking control of the drug stream via a 'legalization'
> process. Drug trade has not been free of state intervention (via
> enforcement of 'drug laws'), but it appears that the state is now
> determined to absorb the developed trade into it's revenue stream -
> selling licenses to produce, distribute and consume, as well as
> taxing the sales.
>
> I guess my question is - does it matter in any ethical sense?
This has *always* been the case, and in every country--viz. alcohol beverages and tobacco products. The Tsars got most of their revenue from the state's vodka monopoly, which (like everything else) the Bolsheviks abolished and Stalin restored. Marijuana prohibition is a demented exception to the general rule.
Shane Mage
"L'après-vie, c'est une auberge espagnole. L'on n'y trouve que ce qu'on a apporté."
Bardo Thodol