Dark Weed

Think about this: if you're involved in an unregulated, illicit market, there are no guarantees, often no product description, or quality described.

Of course, I'm talking about Pot. The illicit market in states where marijuana is illegal, or 'not legal," is completely without any regulation, as well as without any taxation. Not only doesn't the state get to tax the proceeds, and the municipalities or counties lose increased sales taxes, but the customers often don't know what they're buying.

In medical marijuana states, patients can ask for particular kinds of marijuana, and growers attempt to meet their needs, through breeding and selective cultivation. In Colorado and Washington, look for tailored tastes and moods. In states where the trade is illegal, you don't know what you're getting, or where it came from: illegal grows in trashed state or national forests, with chemical fertilizer and pesticides, instead of from certified organic farms with an address.

And, of course, illegality raises the price, sometimes as much as ten or twenty-fold. Successful drug dealers reap huge profits, but illegal drug costs are much steeper for the seller, too: it costs a lot to hire killers, or psychopaths and the risk premium is huge: you have to be able to cover your losses. Cultivation of the crop is the same or higher than it would be for a legal operation, but there are few incentives to tailor a substance like marijuana to particular needs: other than potency.

There is one reason only why New York state does not have at least medical marijuana: the dysfunctional state legislature. Medical marijuana bills have passed the Democratic State Assembly several times, but because of Republican control, the State Senate refuses to vote on them, or votes them down. In this current session, a Democratic majority was elected, but the Republicans, and reportedly, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, encouraged just enough disgruntled Democratic Senators to form an independent caucus and make a deal with them. In effect, the minority Republicans can, and have still, blocked medical marijuana, by again being part of the majority--with the rump Democrats.

Why? Andy is protecting himself, in case he can run for President: all those parts of the country that still abhor legal pot. Besides, he's more conservative than the state Democratic Party. If legalization keeps on gaining in popularity, though, count on Andy to lead the charge.

This has nothing to do with the Roman Empire, except no drugs or liquors were explicitly outlawed there, but distilled liquor wasn't invented until the 12th century. Wine was actually part of the Roman dole. I can't imagine how state-seized wine tasted, but most taxes were collected in kind in the last centuries of the Empire: currency was too debased to support the troops--or the dole.