Have you ever wondered?

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Have you ever walked into a restaurant where the owner, head chef, staff, and patrons, are all tattooed to the gills?  With body piercing and odd but exotic and expensive clothing?  Or a supposed grocery store of a similar nature?  I never thought much about it, just noticing the oddity of such places.  Then, recently, it hit me.  Those people didn't get their start up money from mom and dad, the bank, or legitimate work.  They were in the drug business.  They might still be in that business.  It's a front, or an attempt to go straight.  I could bother to explain but why?  Those who wish not to believe won't, and those who know wouldn't admit such a thing.

What I am noticing is that the economic downturn is very real.  These business are disappearing, left and right.  They weren't, most likely, in it to make money, only to hide or clean it.  Odd that the obvious, to me, results of the black market are the key to seeing the real effect of an economic calamity of the scale I am seeing.  Further, the sales of atv's, motorcycles, and other gear of those trying to hide their money but get something for it?  My guess is these are going down.  Tattoo parlors?  How well are they doing?  Think about what a drug dealer might buy, or service wanted by such, that would be alternative and easy to hide under the radar.  Now, look at those industries.

My evaluation of the drastic decline of these industries is merely empirical.  My assessment that many of these industries are drug related, even peripherally or only partially, is just a suspicion.  Even home use computer manufacturing is dying, and that's a rather extended connection, if valid I think.  I don't trust the media to discuss such things.  As many Mexican reporters that have been murdered, and as soft on tyranny our reporters are, I don't think you will see much reported on this connection.  Oh, don't go eulogizing those dead reporters, many were killed for choosing the wrong cartel, not for doing the "right thing".

Now, is actual drug use down?  I won't say that.  I will say that, as those who are addicted fail, and as the resources for employment, even theft or trade in the business of their addiction, decreases, those addicted to drugs are searching for cheaper highs.  Crank, crack, even krokodil are hitting the market.  People are making it themselves.  Gone are the more expensive, harder to find due to... import regulations, which serve to keep prices high... hard drugs.  Addicts are hitting rock bottom.

I wish it were due to police action having an effect.  But the truth simply isn't there.  Police, knowingly or not on a case by case basis, but definitely systemically, are there to protect the payers from competition and to keep prices in a certain range, not to protect people from a social scourge, especially one so many imbibe.  If you want to understand how law and illegal substances merge, do a quick (or better serious) study of Chicago under Al Capone.  Go further, to a national study of Prohibition.  It was more about payoffs, public opinion, compromises between allowance and appearances, and keeping the murder rates "reasonable".  There was never a serious attempt to end the use of alcohol, only profit from it monetarily, politically, even socially.  Same with drugs.

There are nations who do crack down, and mean to end use.  They have the death penalty for smugglers, dealers, and possibly even for users or repeat user offenders.  Sure, there is still a market, but that market is quite small, extremely secretive, and always afraid.  They don't live large, they don't recruit people into their cult, there aren't easy ways to hide money which most likely is smuggled out just as drugs are smuggled in, if maybe in a different form.

Which is right?  I have my opinion, true.  I also have some reasonable guess as to how many who read here have, or even still do, use.  Oh, probably the "little stuff", probably.  Or only the legal stuff, if a bit much or not exactly prescribed to the user.  It's everywhere.  In the blogosphere more than one would think.  My guess is it is the real crux behind most libertarian ideals, and actually liberal thinking, which is why quite often I can't go there, sticking more with the Tea Party, when I go more politically alt.  Oh, it's there too, it just isn't the real focus, or even from what I have seen one of the platforms.  Drugs are just a social reality, and part of why this nation is crumbling.  But, as I noted, I do see... declines in the adjacent, connected, industries.  I wish I could suggest that NSA spying had something to do with it, but I can't.  They are looking for "anti-government" types (Tea Partiers, even libertarians).  (No, they aren't looking for Akhmed the bomber.)  Further, they wouldn't let out what they are doing to score a drug lord.  But they might use it to score a conservative and have the IRS run him through for a closer scan.  No risk, it's just a tip line away, or intergovernmental so not subject to overview, real or imagined as the transgression might be.

All I can see is the mess isn't solvable as is.  We are going to become Mexico, if we aren't there already.  All good, right?  No difference between this, that, and the other thing, right?  Why do you think Mexicans swim rivers, climb fences, pay thugs who might pimp them out, hike through deserts, and take huge risks and expenses to get here?  Seriously?