Marketing of Illegal Drugs

[Tablo]

I was wondering if there is any known marketing done by cartels/dealers to increase their consumer base. Cigarette/alcohol companies have done it for years and it seems like these groups have enough money and connections they could potentially do certain things to increase the appeal of their products.

Obviously they wouldn't be focusing so much around marketing their particular brand(are there even brand names going around with coke and heroin? I know branding of a sort exists with LSD, ecstasy, and cannabis). Dealers probably wouldn't "advertise" so much since they are normally at the most risk of arrest.

Is it possible cartels could be paying musicians and writers? They are already paying off government officials and law enforcement. They probably wouldn't need marketing with how addictive a lot of this stuff is. Just seems like even with the negative image a lot of narcotics have, they still maintain a great appeal to many people(including myself at times). Any thoughts?



Also, sorry if this isn't up to par with a lot of the intellectual discussion in the Econ sub-forum, just didn't think this would fit elsewhere.

Another thing, does anyone know any good books discussing black market economics? I'm not concerned about learning about specific products and services so much as the actual business practices and impact on the "legitimate" economy.

[Column No.4]

The marketing is word of mouth. To answer your question about coke and heroin, i dont know if there are different types of coke but i do know there are different types of heroin.

[Misanthrope]

Yeah it's word of mouth. There certainly is "advertising", if you want to even call it that, in popular culture that makes drug use look fun, cool ect.

[Tablo]

The marketing is word of mouth. To answer your question about coke and heroin, i dont know if there are different types of coke but i do know there are different types of heroin.
Well, I know there are varying types/forms/potency of coke and heroin. I know marketing is done by word of mouth and peer pressure to a degree. I just wonder if perhaps the cartels have a more influence in the media than is generally known.. I feel kind of like a conspiracy theorist talking about this. It just seems like they would have the opportunity/interest to actively increase the userbase. Then again, they may have their hands full dealing with competitors and law enforcement agencies.

[Tablo]

Yeah it's word of mouth. There certainly is "advertising", if you want to even call it that, in popular culture that makes drug use look fun, cool ect.
Im wondering if they may have more influence in popular culture than is widely known. I'm more interested in seeing specific instances of them spending money on marketing. I guess they wouldn't need to if the "cool" factor is driving this forward enough.

[Column No.4]

Well, I know there are varying types/forms/potency of coke and heroin. I know marketing is done by word of mouth and peer pressure to a degree. I just wonder if perhaps the cartels have a more influence in the media than is generally known.. I feel kind of like a conspiracy theorist talking about this. It just seems like they would have the opportunity/interest to actively increase the userbase. Then again, they may have their hands full dealing with competitors and law enforcement agencies.

I was thinking about getting into that but didnt, so i guess i will now. I think when it comes to coke its a matter of purity, ie. how cut it is, when it comes to heroin i know for a fact there are different types that have different levels of potency, taste, etc.

[Tablo]

I was thinking about getting into that but didnt, so i guess i will now. I think when it comes to coke its a matter of purity, ie. how cut it is, when it comes to heroin i know for a fact there are different types that have different levels of potency, taste, etc.
Well there is china white, browner stuff(don't know any name for it), and black tar. Might be more. I've never done heroin or coke so outside of talking to some friends and strangers I've known to do it and reading a bit, I'm pretty clueless.

[Column No.4]

Well there is china white, browner stuff(don't know any name for it), and black tar. Might be more. I've never done heroin or coke so outside of talking to some friends and strangers I've known to do it and reading a bit, I'm pretty clueless.

Theres also Afghan Gold, however ive heard this name thrown about when referring to everything from marijuana to opium to heroin. I also have never tried coke, heroin or any of the other hard or synthetic drugs.