I enjoy popular economics books and economics is one of many things that I wish I had a greater understanding of. Much of economics is witchcraft and pretension papering over bullshit but it is useful to use different models to try to understand the world. As part of my holiday week reading I decided to delve into the economics of drug dealing.
Wainwright is a British editor for the Economist and he writes well. He decided to study the economics of the narcotics industry and he follows the journey of illegal drugs from farming to end user. I've read a lot of this before in books like Freakonomics or the Undercover Economist but Wainwright does add some additional colour and detail to the scenarios.
Of particular interest to modern readers are sections on the use of legal highs in New Zealand, the legalisation of cannabis in Colorado and the impact of internet retailers (on the dark web) on the distribution and sale of drugs in the modern world.
The extent of the black economy and the massive potential gains in tax suggest that legalisation of narcotics may be a good way forward although the damage done by these substances cannot be underestimated. It is also important to note that there is no such thing as 'fair trade' cocaine. People who buy and use cocaine are partially paying for murder.
Legalisation, taxation and careful regulation are surely the way forward.
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