The thought hit me. I believe in the legalization of all drugs, but I never thought about trafficking or manufacturing. So would Libertarians be cool if, say I had 20 lbs. of weed in my car of a few lbs. of crystal meth or was cooking E in my apartment? And selling if for a living would be cool, right?
I’m guessing if it’s legal to do, then it’s legal to make or distribute. That’s how I feel. Others?
I agree, it would be fine.
When it comes to manufacturing the stuff in your own home, I’m not be sure whether your landlord would be OK with you engaging in such dangerous activities. I heard this kind of stuff sometimes blows up.
Of course it would be fine. However, since the prices would decline so greatly if prohibition were lifted, there would be little profit in small-scale manufacturing and distribution. Large farms and factories could turn out all the supply needed, and you could just buy it in stores. How many people still make their own cigarettes and brew/distill their own alcohol? A scarce few, and even fewer for distribution purposes.
Good question. The landlord may indeed disagree and forbid you from doing it on his premises because of the danger. Others may disagree because of purely moral reasons - so there may be “drug-free neighborhoods” and the like. I presume the producers of drugs (at least the small ones) would be similarly treated as producers of other dangerous or ‘dubious’ substances. The taint of being a drug dealer won’t be gone that easily.
But in general, yes, manufacture and selling should be legal as well. Whether people will be “cool” with it is a different question.
Update: plus what Mises Pieces said.
“And selling if for a living would be cool, right?”
That depends where you are selling it. “Not on my street corner” [legitimate owner] would probably be a common response.
Although trafficking would probably be less so.
Also note that in a more free world without bailouts and deposit insurance and lenders of last resort, insurers and lenders will be very interested in stipulating what their insurees and borrowers can and can not do with the property they have. For example, as an insurer who could be liable for property damages and deaths, I would stipulate that my insurees could not do the following things on their property or eliminate a list of things from being insured events. For example if I do not want any manufacturing for sale of any products then I would stipulate that behaviors like manufacturing your own drugs would not be covered.
another interesting thing that never would have occured to me, but if I sold some, say, bad crank to a customer, he could sue me for damages if it made him sick. I’d have to have tight quality control and would have to take responsibility for my bathtub crank. Only in the Libertarian world.
good point. That’s how smokers who get cancer become millionaires nowdays ;D
How many people still make their own cigarettes and brew/distill their own alcohol?
I’m still thinking on whether to brew my own mead. I’ve only come across one brand in this area and the taste is pretty strong (but luckily the alcohol content was at least 9%). Strong enough that I wrote this about it: Thy must take heed with this bottle of mead, the potency will surely knock you off your steed!