Too many posts to comment with thoughts individually, but it occurs to me the discussion essentially revolves around the conflict between natural justice and social justice. The movie 'Dogville' is an excellent representation of these two ideals smacking into each other head on.Natural Justice -> the way the world works, reality, survival of the fittest, markets, meritocracy, your choices are your own responsibility alone.Social Justice -> how most people want the world to be, idealism, everybody gets a go, equality, you are what your environment makes you to be.Is it fair that drug dealers and governments hike the price of drugs to incredible levels? No. It is natural, not fair.Is it natural that markets are manipulated by the afore mentioned parties and artificial barriers are setup to hike price? No. It is fair, but not natural.If you're paying attention, you'll realize this is a wee bit paradoxical. But they both make sense! How to resolve? Well, I think they are both true, but it depends on what level we're talking about. At the level of the drug dealer and police officer it is natural for self interest to promote criminalization to, literally, create work. The higher the risks, the more lucrative the rewards for the dealer, and the more criminals apprehended, the further a police officer rises up through the ranks. Notice how the customer/tax payer gets screwed by an arms race they don't directly influence. This is natural but unfair.Then, at the the macroscopic level of society, most people want drugs to be controlled/restricted. It's a vague sort of feeling for most of them, but democracy is a bit like gravity in that way. It results in the Drug War and the expansion of the Black Market, since most people also want drugs for themselves. They only want them to be restricted for other parties, not themselves. It's a primeval instinct writ large. It probably made more sense when we walked the earth in small tribes of 20 or 30. This is fair since most people want it this way, but it is unnatural since they are fighting their own impulses.Instead of thinking of humans as individuals, you should think of them as a collection of different agents, who roleplay differently over time. The dude reading Rolling Stone will one day be glued to the Wall St Journal instead. If 1 person can't be consistent over time, I don't see how we can expect society to be consistent.Anyway, I'm not pointing fingers, I believe free markets are the best way to prosperity, for us all that is, but I also know a market tilted by regulation e.g. DEA, is beneficial to my profit margins personally. So... :-Xtldr; watch Dogville!