Is the Pandemic Disrupting the Black Market?
With everybody on “lock down” – one can only wonder – “how is the black market doing?” It’s an important question considering that the black market for narcotics is the biggest in the world. One thing the black market needs to survive is anonymity. However, with things shut down the shadow element of the black market cannot operate as efficiently as before.
The reason – society is shut down. They can no longer hide in plain sight because there is literally nowhere to hide.
From a consumer perspective – several news outlets have reported on people stockpiling drugs due to fear of a shortage. This in turn is depleting the current “black market stock”, and with current avenues of distribution slowed down significantly – this could lead to a shortage.
But this is only the ‘tip of the icerberg’.
How much of your drugs come from china?
For those who just smoke cannabis – you are fortunate that local grows exist and there are legal cannabis markets within the United States. This means – at the very least there will always be weed. The problem for most Americans living in prohibition states is that a significant portion of the weed consumed in the US comes from the cartels.
That’s right – while the cartels have been losing grips in legal markets – they have been getting stronger in prohibition states. Nonetheless – the border between the US and Mexico will allow cannabis to continue to flow – albeit at a much lower level.
The BIG CONCERN is fentanyl & other drugs. A large portion of the chemicals in a lot of popular drugs – including fentanyl – comes from China. With Chinese exports shut down – since roughly two months ago – current supplies are running low.
This means that the price of street drugs are increasing, coupled with a factor of addiction from drugs like fentanyl…things might get hairy if we don’t re-start the supply chain soon.
Black Market is more than drugs…
China is responsible for a vast majority of goods we consume on the regular. Since China was shut down by Covid-19 for months now – many of the counterfeit products have also stopped arriving. While this is of no concern to many people – the fact of the matter is that there is a large portion of the global consumer market that buys “knock off”.
In places like Tepito, in Mexico City – there are thousands of vendors who make their money off these goods. However, now without product – the mafias in the area are still requiring the vendors to pay. Failure to do so frequently results in murder or kidnappings and has gotten so bad that the locals have asked the police to intervene.
Borders and Airplanes
A lot of drugs come from undocumented airplanes a-la-Blow featuring Johnny Depp. Those planes typically fly “under the radar” and use regular air traffic as smokescreens.
Yet with so many flights canceled – these planes are easier to spot. Similarly, the borders have seen a significant decrease in activity. As mentioned – drugs are coming through, just significantly slower which will mean an increase in price and limited supply.
So what? Fuck the Junkies and the Cartels!
Perhaps – but that is a bag I’d rather not want to open. You see, the black market is sort of the “unspoken pharmacy” for people who have chemical dependencies on drugs that induce horrific withdrawal symptoms.
Have you ever seen a meth head or a crack junky without crack for more than a few days? Hell – even one day is too much.
What do you think will happen when;
The US in the Middle of an Opioid Epidemic
Where the Majority of Users buy their drugs on the Black Market
Run out of Heroin
I’ll give you a second to contemplate The Horde and our potential dystopian future. Now – while I have had the good fortune to never have been addicted to an opioid – I have known several people who weren’t so fortunate.
Some of the stories I have heard them tell in trying to get their fix is truly shocking, ranging from pawning their family jewels to outright robbing a fool! In the near future – “that fool” could be you.
This is a problem that most people have not truly wrapped their minds around as of yet – especially since we’re still clusterfucked with the viral pandemic.
But here’s something – that if we don’t deal with it properly – could have some dire consequences.
The Perfect Shitstorm
We have to reconsider everything – abandon the old models and adapt to something new. One thing is certain – with millions of people losing their jobs, millions more not having access to their drugs (or not having the resources) – has the potential to turn the near future into a far more insecure place.
That is – unless we realize that we’ve been doing shit wrong for the past half a century. We have allowed China and the Cartels, Big Pharma and the DOJ to create a scenario that is a ticking time-bomb.
For anyone who is addicted to heroin – I strongly recommend looking into Kratom and stocking up on that. It might get rough. For the rest – once we weather this storm, we’ve got a few more dark clouds before it will get sunny again….but rest assured – it will get sunny again.
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