A Business Plan for the Production of MDMA - Essay Example

?For the Love of Molly: A Business Plan for the Important, Sale, and Eventual Production of MDMA The recent occurrences with regards to government regulation and the perennial disregard and ultimate lack of an effective and rational drug policy to maximize public utility, reduce crime, and seek to benefit the wider population has meant that the market for drug trade has ballooned. This has encouraged even those that might otherwise have a moral compunction against such an activity to engage in the sale and trafficking of illegal substances. Moreover, with the economy tanking and no end in sight, horrific levels of small business taxation, and a great many other issues have encouraged industrious young men and women to integrate with the sale of illicit substances. In this dystopian world, one in which executive decree hearkens back to the divine right of kings and a simple suspicion of possible future crime can have one indefinitely interred in a maximum security zone, the following analysis will seek to provide the reader with an informed way in which this author would seek to establish a United States ecstasy enterprise. In such a way, a focus upon seeking first to develop imports of the drug into a robust network of suppliers, then seeking to shift from importation to domestic production as a means of serving the demand that has been created will be discussed. Finally, a level of analysis will be put forward with regards to the best way of seeking to distribute and retail these products to the end consumer. Firstly, in order to base a level of business upon the importation of ecstasy, it must be realized that almost all trade and business development is based upon trust and personal connections with individuals that business is being performed with. As such, seeking to foster connections within South East Asia with government officials, mafia kingpins, and military juntas is a good first step in forging the personal connections that will be required in order to create a U.S. import economy for ecstasy. Due to the fact that ecstasy’s prime ingredient, sassafras oil - also known as camphor oil, can only be harvested from sassafras trees, seeking to develop close ties with individuals that have access to camphor oil supplies internationally is a logical and intelligent first step (Singer 112). The supply of ecstasy around the world generally originates within South East Asia; an area of the world that is notoriously corrupt and if one is in fact arrested for a crime, a bribe can easily be paid in order to have the individual released and the “crime forgotten” (Cherry 18). The enterprising young business person from the United States would do well to remember that the legal system within these far flung reaches of the world, although just as Draconian as the United States on the surface, does not have the severity as far as punishment goes as long as an individual has ready cash on hand to buy out the correct officials. As such, in seeking to establish a resilient import economy for ecstasy, once these personal relations are solidified, it is necessary to begin to insure that the delivery mechanisms for the drug will not be challenged. Numerous individuals seeking to import raw MDMA from South East Asia have been foiled by hit or miss US Customs enforcement. Random searches and seizures of entire vessels laden with MDMA worth untold millions on the street have occurred in the recent past. As such, seeking to integrate with the supply chain by importing the drug the old fashioned way is both foolish and highly dangerous. A far more effective approach would be to leverage what few others have considered can be done; the bribery of US Customs officials. Naturally, with the current state of propaganda that exists within the American media, such a thought is not even presently in the mind of anyone within society (Fitzgerald 201). Individuals have been led to wrongly believe that bribery within the United States is something that merely cannot exist. However, with the ever increasing hardship that the middle class if facing, the bribery of a low level customs official whose job it is to inspect cargo could easily and rather cheaply be effected. The lack of oversight and the sheer overall size of the shipments that must be checked allow for this to be a useful approach is engaged on a large scale. Ultimately, by providing a financial incentive for a low-level customs official who lives in San Fransisco, Oakland, Los Angeles, Portland, or Seattle and survives on a meager 50-60 thousand dollars a year before tax proves itself to be a highly effective means of ensuring that the product is able to get into the market without being seized. Once the product is in the United States, the hardest part has been done. By integrating with the extant network of suppliers that already exist for illicit substances, the producer is not responsible for getting his/her hands wet and risking being busted by the authorities at each and every stage of the process. However, as an added measure of security, seeking to integrate a series of middle men who know relatively little about the process itself and merely provide the supplies to lower level suppliers would be highly beneficial as a means of ensuring that the DEA or any other of the litany of federal, state, and local “morality police” will not get in the way of final profits from this industry (Platt 14). However, as anyone that is familiar with the business model is well aware, in order to derive massive profits and see one’s business grow, acting as a middle man is not in and of itself sufficient. As such, the secondary supplier (in this case this refers to the individual or group that purchases from existing stocks of MDMA within South East Asia and has it shipped to the United States for sale) must seek to create a domestic means of production; reducing costs and maximizing the level of product produced and sold. This is somewhat tricky due to the fact that it will need to be set up over a somewhat longer period of time. As has previously been referenced, MDMA production is ultimately tied to the sassafras tree. In order to have an extant means of production, a series of shell companies will need to be set up that are responsible for growing and tending large plots of planted sassafras trees with a relevant excuse for such an activity; i.e. the sale of sassafras oil to a booming natural remedies market in some far flung region of the globe. With production up and running, dilute levels of sassafras oils can be exported to an existing shell client in the third world while the majority of the camphor oil is retained domestically in order to produce the MDMA. Naturally, the level of secrecy that this will involve will be extreme. This is not only due to the fact that a single mistake could wreck the entire enterprise but also due to the fact that the United States authorities will keenly be monitoring such an outfit to ensure that the production and sale of sassafras oil is legitimate. However, with a little research and the correct shell companies set up overseas, the ability to domestically produce MDMA can be engaged. Leveraging the existing demand and supply framework that has been evidenced during the import stage of MDMA sale, the individual can expect to reap a large level of profitability. Nevertheless, regardless of the way in which this is effected, each and every effort must be taken to ensure that even the individuals whose job it is to ensure that the sassafras is grown , tended, and extracted must have no knowledge of where the camphor oil ultimately ends up. Once again, as production increases and the profits of the trade are enough to allow, bribery on an even larger scale can and should be conducted. Although this business model clearly advocates engaging in illegal action, it must be realized by the individual who might be wearing rose tinted glasses that similar business models for bribery, extortion, and even threats of death doubtless exist within many of the largest and most profitable pharmaceutical companies throughout the globe. By relentlessly pursuing dominance and not yielding to the way in which the law might impact them, firms around the globe have been able to derive high levels of profitability. In such a manner, it is the view of this enterprising student that the same model for market dominance, disregard for extant foolish drug policy, and a clear demand on the part of the general population creates a tempting economic opportunity. Works Cited Cherry, Tamara. "Traffic Out Of Control." New Statesman 138.4956 (2009): 18-19. Business Source Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Fitzgerald, John L. "A Political Economy Of 'Doves.'." Contemporary Drug Problems 29.1 (2002): 201. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Platt, Steve. "Moral Panic." New Statesman & Society 8.380 (2005): 14. Business Source Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Singer, Tarra. "Trade." Kirkus Reviews 81.9 (2013): 112-113. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Oct. 2013. Read More