How a Mexican Drug Cartel Makes Its Billions

Re:How a Mexican Drug Cartel Makes Its Billions by iandanforth on Friday June 15, 2012 @05:01PM (#4118696)

I agree with the spirit of your argument, but for reference 30mg of nicotine is fatal. It's a potent neurotoxin and is actively used as a pesticide. It would easily qualify as something "so intrinsically harmful [it] cause[s] severe, immediate, measurable harm."

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How a Mexican Drug Cartel Makes Its Billions by _delirium on Friday June 15, 2012 @07:18PM (#4119213)

True; it seems there's some more fuzzy element involved, involving how the substances are used rather than their intrinsic potency. For various reasons, turning nicotine into a more potent drug hasn't become popular. And, tobacco leaves smoked as-is are not acutely dangerous (only chronically dangerous). But, the same is basically true of coca leaves. The difference seems to be that coca leaves are refined into more potent/dangerous recreational drugs, but tobacco leaves aren't.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:How a Mexican Drug Cartel Makes Its Billions by astrodust on Wednesday June 20, 2012 @10:38AM (#4137173)

By a very loose interpretation so would water and surely more people drown than die of a nicotine overdose.

[ Parent | on HN ]