Philadelphia cops are unhappy with Hershey (NYSE: HSY) because they can't tell the difference between Ice Breaker Pacs and the tiny heat-sealed bags of crack and heroin that they're responsible for getting off the street.

Fox has a side-by-side comparison of the two packets, and they do look pretty similar. But think about it: It's no secret that the War on Drugs has been something less than a success -- read Reefer Madness for more on this. And when the Chief Police Inspector of Philadelphia can't tell the difference between heroin and candy, maybe we ought to just give up.

But if Hershey did this on purpose, I gotta hand them props for brilliant marketing -- kind of a Gen Y version of candy cigarettes. I've never seen a bag of heroin up close in my life, but I might have to start carrying around Ice Breaker Pacs -- it could improve my street cred.

This could also be a great defense for people busted for possession: "I thought the guy on the corner in the trench coat was selling Ice Breaker Pacs! It confuses the cops too!"

I would love to see a chart showing the spike in Ice Breaker Pacs sales caused by this news.

When I wrote last week that cocaine prices rose at a faster rate than the Dow Jones industrial average, I overlooked something: methamphetamine may be an even better "investment" than cocaine, when compared with the index. Marijuana isn't doing too shabby either.

According to data on the DEA's website, the average price per pure gram of all domestic methamphetamine soared 37% between January and June 2007, beating the 24% gain in cocaine, and eclipsing the broad market index, which rose about 7% during that same time.

I wasn't able to find comparable data for marijuana but did come across an interesting story from Bloomberg News saying that prices for marijuana in Holland have soared 20% because of an increase in police raids. So any college students planning a trip to Europe should take note. U.S. pot prices have climbed over the last few years, according to the folks at High Times. I'll update this post if I get more information.

Does this mean that people should dump their Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) shares and set up a crystal meth lab or start growing weed? Of course not.

As Mr. Mackey from South Park says, "Drugs are bad." They're bad for your health and bad for society. People should just say no to drugs, but they don't and that's the problem. Prohibition didn't stop people from drinking in the '20s, and isn't stopping people from getting high today. My argument is that if we decriminalize drugs, the government can tax them and use that money to treat addicts.

Legalization is no utopia, but given the failure of the War on Drugs, it seems like it's worth a try.

People who are opposed to the legalization of drugs should consider the following: cocaine is having a better year than the stock market.

This fun fact courtesy of WallStreetFighter paints a very grim picture of the War on Drugs. Addicts are paying more for less-pure Bolivian marching powder. From January through June, the average price per gram of domestic cocaine purchases rose 24% from $95.89 to $118.70, while purity fell. Retail (involving 10 grams or more) prices rose 15% while "mid-level" wholesale prices surged 33% and wholesale (1 kilogram or more) prices jumped 11%.

Cocaine is a helluva drug -- just ask any celebrity. Heck, read any story on TMZ.com about Britney Spears and you'll understand. Supplies are down and demand is steady. That's the type of stable cash-flow business that usually attracts private equity, no?

Now consider that the Dow Jones industrial average rose 10.8% this year. The S&P 500 Index is up 7.98% while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index has surged more than 14% Cocaine has had a better year than many blue-chip stocks including General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) (up 10%), News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) (up 5.5%) and Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG) (up 9.7%). Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) 35% does beat cocaine but not by much.



Unlike most products, cocaine really does sell itself as does pornography. Lots of people -- mostly really bad people -- are getting rich off drugs. Why shouldn't the federal government? Researcher Jon Gettman estimates that the government loses $31.1 billion in taxes because of the prohibition against marijuana, according to the Marijuana Policy Project. You can bet that the figures would be similar for cocaine.

Imagine how much money Uncle Sam could reap if he taxed cocaine or marijuana? What does the War on Drugs cost? Hundreds of millions? That money could be used to fund a real war on drugs -- treating addicts whose lives have been destroyed.