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    ArdenHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:44am

    I’m as bleeding heart, socialist, liberal hippie as the next person, but unlike most drugs, there’s NO WAY a person’s first cigarette with all the hacking and coughing and shit makes them think “yeah, that was amazing, I think I’ll pick this up on a habitual basis!”

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      ThePriceisWrongArden
      5/06/15 10:50am

      It's not the first - it's the continued use because your friends are likely doing it (probably how you got the cigarette in the first place). Peer pressure is a helluva drug.

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      benjaminalloverArden
      5/06/15 10:57am

      I don’t think it works that way. It takes a long time to feel addicted, it seems. Most folks will smoke casually for a while before they start smoking 2 packs a day.

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    BrtStlndHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:59am

    Altria pays a 4.13% dividend.

    Philip Morris - 4.8%

    Reynolds American - 3.63%

    Lorillard - 3.74%

    These are impossible to beat with just about any other fixed income investment. Do you equate owning a stock with implicit approval of the products they sell?

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      AurochsBrtStlnd
      5/06/15 11:16am

      These dividends come ultimately from sales of tobacco products. Shareholders in tobacco companies are literally making money off of other peoples’ addictions to products that are well known to be very bad to their health. That’s morally problematic at best.

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      BrtStlndAurochs
      5/06/15 11:34am

      Yes but I’m a tobacco user.

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    tito_swinefluHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 11:22am

    So, when I buy stock in a tobacco company from someone, how much of that money goes to the tobacco company?

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      PseudoHermestito_swineflu
      5/06/15 1:58pm

      None of it, unless it’s an IPO. They got their cash during that IPO... after that it’s all the secondary market.

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      tito_swinefluPseudoHermes
      5/06/15 2:17pm

      Right. That’s exactly my fucking point. There’s not much of a moral difference between buying one stock and another. I buy raytheon stock because I am betting on people being terrible, murderous goons. I’m not giving money to Raytheon, I’m betting that their business (which is killing people) will get better.

      There’s an argument to be made that capitalism itself is tremendously immoral, and I also believe that, but why does it matter what stock I buy on the secondary market?

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    SoapBoxcarWillieHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:56am

    What about investing in state-sponsored evil, like private prison companies? Most of them have guarantees from the state to keep them full of prisoners at all times—the state legislature can make up new crimes of they have to. It’s just like the hotel business, the Hotel California anyway.

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      owen-magneticSoapBoxcarWillie
      5/06/15 11:02am

      what about the funds of metro areas or large unions (eg CA Teachers) that hold stocks in "ethical" companies like manufacturers and then use their large shares to pressure those companies to offshore their labor to better their returns?

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      SoapBoxcarWillieowen-magnetic
      5/06/15 11:06am

      Are they investing directly in these companies, or are they investing through activist hedge funds/asset managers that are doing this?

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    Tom Friedman's Mustache WaxHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:37am

    That’s just smart investing. Stocks resistant to devaluation are the ones tied to addictive substances and activities.

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      toothpetardTom Friedman's Mustache Wax
      5/06/15 10:38am
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      WookieTennisTom Friedman's Mustache Wax
      5/06/15 10:41am

      Invest in vice and then a healthcare ETF. Healthcare keeps vice users alive longer, positive feedback loop. Profit.

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    The Noble RenardHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:43am

    Investing in marijuana stocks might be a bad idea right now, mainly because of the amount of uncertainty in the whole area. Might be a bit early.

    Of course, for those that happen to pick the right winner, it could pay off wonderfully.

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      toothpetardThe Noble Renard
      5/06/15 10:46am

      I’d go with this kind of stuff:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidi…

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      WookieTennisThe Noble Renard
      5/06/15 10:49am

      I got burned on PHOT after the SEC decided to suspend trading due to some sketchy insider activity. Stock basically went from $0.50 to $0.02.

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    Pending ApprovalHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 11:03am

    is there anyone who has become rich without having to step on people down the line? I don’t think there is anything new here.

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      Armageddon T. ThunderbirdPending Approval
      5/06/15 11:25am

      There is the occasional exception, but she’ll grow up to be concentrated evil. You’ll see (we’ll all see.)

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    heptameronHamilton Nolan
    5/06/15 10:52am

    “That’s the way it is, great king! That’s the way it is! Few are those people in the world who, when acquiring lavish wealth, don’t become intoxicated & heedless, don’t become greedy for sensual pleasures, and don’t mistreat other beings. Many more are those who, when acquiring lavish wealth, become intoxicated & heedless, become greedy for sensual pleasures, and mistreat other beings.” - The Buddha

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      ThePriceisWrongHamilton Nolan
      5/06/15 11:02am

      If you’re going out and buying liquor/beer in large quantities, drinking at bars regularly with friends, or supporting your local brewery/winery, that’s not really any different than investing in liquor stocks. You’re supporting them one way or another, and the moral high ground goes out the window whether you’re rich, middle class, or lower income.

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        lobstrHamilton Nolan
        5/06/15 12:15pm

        I picture dudes from all the marijuana-related companies totally baked on the couch giddily trying to think up their ticker symbol, much like those who try to get creatively dirty vanity plates....

        ERBB, HEMP, MJNA, MJMJ, and MYHI to name a few...

        Cannabis Science, Inc. (CBIS)
        American Green, Inc. (ERBB)
        Hemp, Inc. (HEMP)
        Medical Marijuana, Inc. (MJNA)
        The MaryJane Group, Inc. (MJMJ)
        Mountain High Acquisitions Corp. (MYHI)

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