Reply #361: Those lovely fellows...

[jeepnstein]

who are involved in distributing and selling it are. Since it's an illegal product the folks who are best suited to selling it are criminals. Since it's very profitable and illegal, business disputes are settled by violence.

Think it's a peaceful business? Buy a couple hundred pounds directly from a grower and start selling it on street corners in any major metropolitan area. Be sure to undercut your competitors by a few bucks so you grab all the customers.

The war on drugs has driven dope smokers straight into the arms of criminals that most stoners would avoid like a plague if given a choice.

If it weren't for the huge profit potential most gangs realize from drug sales they'd be hanging around on street corners and engaging in relatively petty crime until they got too old for that sort of stuff. That's where the bulk of the gun violence in this country comes from, gangs dealing in illegal drugs.