Moneybox: Can You Buy Drugs With Target Gift Cards?

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Moneybox Can You Buy Drugs With Target Gift Cards? How the illicit economy would work in a world without cash. By Seth Stevenson Posted Friday, Mar 09, 2012, at 08:31 PM ET As we transition toward a cashless society, no doubt the last cash holdouts will be those who work in illicit markets. Drug dealers want the lettuce. Prostitutes don't take credit cards. Or ... do they? I've actually bought drugs without cash once before: I purchased psychedelic mushrooms in Amsterdam as part of a travel story for Slate. (Resulting in the trippiest expense report ever filed.) So, I could theoretically use my AmEx to buy another plane ticket to the Netherlands, and then some 'shrooms, and voila, cashless mission accomplished. But I don't think that counts. Those drugs are for sale in the open, in a shop (at least I think they still are—I haven't checked in on Dutch drug laws lately). Buying drugs in the United States is different. A strictly under-the-table affair. So, let's imagine there's a fictional character named Smeth. Smeth knows a guy. Like, knows a guy. Last week, Smeth went to this guy's Brooklyn apartment and asked to buy a gram of weed. Then Smeth asked if he could pay for the weed using a $20 Target gift card. The guy scratched his chin. He acknowledged that he does live very near a Target, and then allowed that he in fact could use some new household wares. Smeth had a deal! So it can be done. The cashless drug deal is not impossible. But I can't imagine Target gift cards will become a favored underground currency. For one ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate How Radical Was That Law Professor Obama Hugged? Game Change: Julianne Moore Is So Good, She Can Make Even a Liberal Feel Sorry for Sarah Palin Hate Groups Are Thriving. KKK Membership Is Dwindling. Why?	Advertisement
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