The History Channel is not considered a reputable nor a notable source in the first place.
Secondly, “drug dealers” make a fortune on every level. Our insane prohibition laws ensure bad substances are uncontrolled and extremely profitable to market on the streets and to our children. This is the principle reason why drug dealers and cartels are so strongly in favor of our “war on drugs.”
Prohibition laws only serve to make any substance in relation to societal health 1000 times worse on many, many levels. Not just from the unregulated substances themselves, but with all the police corruption that is happening more and more every day. “Free” money can be a powerful motivator.
And the scary thing is that so few people can see what’s happening. They think these prohibition laws are wonderful and good, but it’s the laws themselves that are fatally flawed.
When is making a bad thing like meth or heroin or nicotine ever a good thing by making it so insanely profitable and marketable? Nicotine is every bit as addictive as heroin, but you don’t see people robbing a convenience store or tearing up railroad track for money to get their “fix” of tobacco (or alcohol) that they’d have to purchase on the black market. And you’d better believe that would happen if those substances were to be banned.
Ban tobacco and people will grow it secretly. Ban alcohol and people will star
You’re obviously right that someone will be willing to purchase it, but my point was that it doesn’t end with the scrapper. There’s other people involved in the recycling process, and the more people involved the harder it would be to hide. I suppose small portions of railroad scrap could be disguised by mixing it with other scrap steel, like in crushed cars. I’ll be interested if those guys turn in their purchaser for leniency.
According to this site, scrap steel and iron is running around .32 cents a pound, so I suppose at even half that it wouldn’t take much to make it pay considering how heavy steel is.
The History Channel is not considered a reputable nor a notable source in the first place.
Secondly, “drug dealers” make a fortune on every level. Our insane prohibition laws ensure bad substances are uncontrolled and extremely profitable to market on the streets and to our children. This is the principle reason why drug dealers and cartels are so strongly in favor of our “war on drugs.”
Prohibition laws only serve to make any substance in relation to societal health 1000 times worse on many, many levels. Not just from the unregulated substances themselves, but with all the police corruption that is happening more and more every day. “Free” money can be a powerful motivator.
And the scary thing is that so few people can see what’s happening. They think these prohibition laws are wonderful and good, but it’s the laws themselves that are fatally flawed.
When is making a bad thing like meth or heroin or nicotine ever a good thing by making it so insanely profitable and marketable? Nicotine is every bit as addictive as heroin, but you don’t see people robbing a convenience store or tearing up railroad track for money to get their “fix” of tobacco (or alcohol) that they’d have to purchase on the black market. And you’d better believe that would happen if those substances were to be banned.
Ban tobacco and people will grow it secretly. Ban alcohol and people will start using stills again. They’ll produce unregulated alcohol with anything in it, like with any unregulated (illegal) substance. Brewing stills will explode just like they did in the 1920’s, and just like meth labs explode today. It’s quite saddening that we as a society managed to learn nothing from history.
(Getting off my soap box for now - Sorry, but this is a hot button of mine. We’re
Yes, of course, but not nearly to the extent if these things were made illegal.
And the reason I’m pointing this out is because of the sentiment that these vandals were doing this to support a drug habit. If it were the case, it would be solely because whatever substance they need to steal money for is insanely expensive because of prohibition. It’s just saddening that “drugs” always get the blame, when it has nothing to do with any drug, but rather, their illegality.
My grandfather bootlegged back in the 20’s. When alcohol was illegal there were stills everywhere: In homes, basements, barns, state and national forests, etc. And they made alcohol with anything they could find which led to poisonings, blindness, etc. (As to be expected with any substance that’s prohibited and unregulated.) Now, not so much with alcohol because it’s easier and safer to just purchase alcohol legally.
Will stills go away forever? Of course not. But it’s not the government’s job to play nanny-state - especially not in a so-called “free” country.
These “bath salts” are not a real problem right now (only a perceived one,) just like meth wasn’t a problem before 1988 when it was made illegal. After meth was made illegal, it made a worthless substance worth $100 a gram. And it took that dangerous substance and relinquished control over it to the cartels. The same thing will happen with these “bath salts.” Just watch. No matter how “bad” these bath salts are to smoke, it will be a billion times worse under prohibition. The cartels would love that, though.
Perhaps the best solution would be to split the coun
Yep. Fact is that people will consume things not meant to be consumed. And this has big government “concerned.” So their immediate solution will be to give the cartels another cash cow and shove it into the pockets of our children. The insanity is mind-boggling.
When it gets around that Nutmeg is one of the most powerful hallucinogens, (eat a tablespoon of Nutmeg and you’d better plan on not doing anything for three days.) I’m sure they’ll try to make that illegal as well (If they could take a harmless substance that’s never killed anyone [cannabis/hemp] and make that illegal, they can make anything illegal.)
But prohibition doesn’t make anything magically go away. So just watch. once the price for these “bath salts” goes through the roof, just like what happened with meth, it, too, will be secretly manufactured in underground labs with no regulation as to potency, disposal of manufacturing poisons, etc. Once the price gets high enough, we’ll find it in schools as well as meth. It’s economics.
The country is falling apart. We don’t have money for anything. We have a broader and broader percentage of the population with a “Gibs Me Dat” mentality, who are paid to have kids
You tried to say something inspired, but your message didn’t get across. What am I saying about meth? “nbd”?
All I’m pointing out is that it’s the illegality that makes meth 1000 times worse. It was the prohibition of meth that created the meth problem. This is recent history. I’m not just talking about unregulated production which create purity discrepancies that kill people.
And part of the prohibition (of anything) is that the substances become UN-regulated, just like meth today. It’s totally UN-regulated and UN-controlled. And the disastrous policies of prohibition have turned meth into an extremely lucrative commodity to produce and market. This isn’t rocket science. Geez. It’s economics.
Let put it another way so maybe you can understand better. If they made tobacco illegal today, it wouldn’t make the tobacco any safer. Before long it would be $100 a quarter ounce. Yes - For tobacco. People would have to smuggle it. Families would be destroyed because of arrests and imprisonments over illegal tobacco. Gang turf wars would also expand to include the illegal tobacco trade. Nothing good would come from the prohibition of tobacco, just as nothing good comes from the prohibition of any substance people want. Because guess what? Prohibition of any drug or alcohol simply doesn’t work. In fact, it has quite the opposite affect.
I never have to worry about tobacco being marketed to my daughter’s high school. Why? It’s legal. There’s no profit motive. She’ll run across tobacco like anyone else, but as an informed person. However, because meth is illegal, it’s everywhere. Why shouldn’t it be? It’s a great profit at $100 a gram - all because it’s illegal.
I’ve been doing a little research on metal theft from railroads. It’s apparently fairly prevalent. These incidents are happening all over, and not just in this country.
States have their own laws regarding scrap metal sales, and some states are clearly tougher than others. Texas is currently working to pass a scrap metal anti-theft law that has recyclers very upset.
And the thieves may be getting smarter. In Washington DC, metal thieves may be posing as road crew workers. If that’s the case, it would be easy to imagine thieves posing as railroad workers as well, especially to the general public, who generally isn’t as railroad-conscious as we are. If you follow the “main” track at Ace Tomato,
So my 1-yd section of 130lb rail is worth about $39 now. I think I paid $5 for it from a, now long-gone, scrap dealer that had a mountain of 3-ft sections in the yard from the removal of several tracks in the area back in the late 1970’s. I received no bill of sale when I bought it and it was so long ago I doubt if I would still have it even if one had been issued.
I have always wondered what my “heirs and assigns” will do with it… I guess when the time comes I won’t much care, but what kind of trouble will they have?