Why is selling drugs illegal?
Selling drugs is not illegal. Selling illegal drugs is illegal, and selling drugs illegally is illegal. Confused? Let me explain. Many years ago,most substances that people consumed to cause intoxication were uncontrolled in the marketplace.
People could drink liquids containing cocaine. They could sell it or use it as a digestive aide. Society did not have laws to stop it. Patent medicine was sold, making unfounded claims of cures.
Eventually people decided Government should regulate these transactions. Some drugs were declared illegal, because the government believed they had no true medicinal purpose.
Some drugs were legal, but their sale was regulated, to the point you needed permission to buy them. You needed a license to sell these drugs. Even though some people could legally sell them, you could not without one.
Government recently decided that opioids were too much of a problem. They dramatically controlled their sale and use. This occurred even when they were properly prescribed by a physician. People who needed them to control pain felt they had no alternative. They attempted to purchase the formerly legally obtainable drug from an illegal source.
Because the legal sources of the drug were also tightly controlled, the price went up, and availability went down. An illegal drug, Heroin, was cheaper and more easily obtained. This was in part because it was not regulated at any step of the distribution process. It was only controlled through law enforcement interception of people who were unlicensed to sell or distribute the drug.
People who have nothing to lose, such as drug dealers, are always willing to take risks. In contrast, people with something to lose, such as pharmacists, are not willing to take those risks.
Heroin kills. It is an unregulated substance produced with no quality controls. It is sold by people who have no understanding of the product, its source, or its effectiveness. It is sold to people who are so sick with addiction. They don’t really care that their life is in jeopardy every time they use it.
