Coke is $3 per gram here...

Hello Everyone,

 

Ozell and I had some conversations with some of the coke users in the hostel (the majority of the guests) over the last couple of days.  I thought I would share what we have learned... the going rate for good coke is about $3 per gram.  Some of the British people here say they would spend about 70-80 British Pounds ($120-$150) per gram.  The Australians say they would have to spend $300 Australian dollars for a gram.  Since I have never done coke, I have no clue what the going rate is in the States, but if my recollection of hearing other people talk about it is correct, then I think Americans pay about what the British are paying- $100-$130 per gram.

 

I am very curious to know what the going rate for coke is in the States so if one of you blog readers could tell me, I would appreciate it.  You obviously do not need to reply directly to this blog post if you desire anonymity.  You can send me an e-mail directly at:  sean@xiante.com .    And those of you who know me, you know that I am not anti-drug and would respect your privacy.

 

So the bottom line is that coke is about 50 times cheaper here than in the western world.  Why I have to admit that many coke users annoy me when they are high, it is only because of their frenetic and overly chatty personalities which makes them inclined to engage me in conversation because they are highly social.  I do not like to be overly engaged in conversations usually.  Although I know that I can get chatty and excited at times too.  Imagine the overly perky and cheerful cheerleader from your high school days.  Then imagine her/him at five times the perkiness and chattiness.  That has been my experience with most of the coke users so far.

 

Having said that, I don't see any of the drastic negative effects that all of the "Anti-drug" and "War on Drugs" people scream about cocaine.  It appears to be more psychologically addictive rather than physically addictive if it is addictive at all.  All of these coke users behave rationally and are not using all day long.  This is their nightlife party drug.  They due tend to stay up past dawn and then sleep through the day, but that is to be expected given that coke is a stimulant.  From what I have seen, alcohol is a worse drug.  I am not saying that long term use would not have any negative consequences.  Only that the legal drugs of alcohol and tobacco appear to be worse for a person than cocaine.  So again, it has proven to me that the vast majority of the anti-drug information (or rather disinformation) that is shoved down the US citizenry's throats is nothing but lies and propaganda.  There are some really nasty drugs out there like heroin, crystal meth, and the crack form of cocaine.  I do not dispute that.  But when people do not discriminate between different drugs and just lop them all into the "horrible & society damaging" category, it really can only backfire.  I speak from experience.  90% of what I was told about weed was a complete lie.  And often the disinformation is promulgated by people who are completely ignorant of the drug themselves.  Once someone realizes that they have been lied to, the natural reaction is to start distrusting the rest of the information they have received on the topic at hand.  (Except for some reason the topic of a person's organized religious superstitions.  They'll hang onto that despite being hit over the head with repeated examples of its silliness and falsehoods.)  So when the anti-drug people try to scare impressionable youth with the line, "Marijuana is a gateway drug.", there may be some truth to that.  However, it is only because after that person tries marijuana and realizes they have been fed a bunch of bullshit (or at the very least, a bunch of huge exaggerations) about it's disastrous effects, then that person is inclined not to believe any of the information they have received about the disastrous effects of other drugs.  Some of which I fully admit are dangerous substances.  That is why I consider those people who feed disinformation or misinformation about drugs to be evil.  And they, themselves, are partially responsible for many of those people with drug addictions. 

 

Lastly, this experience has also reinforced my belief that the "War on Drugs" is a complete failure and nothing but a scam perpetrated by the US government.  More and more people are realizing that.  The illegality of some of these mild "party" drugs is what drives up the price to amounts that make criminal activity worthwhile.  People aren't going to steal to pay for their drugs when a gram of coke is $3 instead of $130.  Just like criminal gangs and smugglers aren't going to kill for it when their is no profit in it.  The high cost of the illegal drugs is also a scam to transfer wealth from the general populace to illicit groups including your own US government who is probably the biggest drug smuggler in the world.  It also serves to keep our prisons full of non-violent offenders because many of our prisons now are privatized and actually are on stock exchanges like any other private company.  More prisoners mean more money from you the taxpayer to pay for those prisoners and to fatten the wallets of the corporations who run them.  Yet another wealth transfer scam.  It makes me sick.  It is truly evil.  But let's all just have a fasting and prayer revival at Qualcomm Stadium tomorrow because our all loving yet horribly vengeful Daddy figure god will be pissed off if two men or women who love each other are allowed to continue to get married in California.

 

Well, enough of that rant.  LOL.

 

Later, I will write that blog post about some of the more flavorful aspects of the local culture here in Cusco including the very interesting Halloween celebration last night.  Why are the pagan holidays so much more fun?  Well Christmas is about as pagan a holiday as you can get too, I guess.  :)

 

Happy All Saints Day to you all (remember Catholics. this is a day of Holy Obligation so get your asses into mass today),

 

Sean  :)