Update on Draft 1.6

Oh no, just two days until Draft 2 is due! Arghh!

For this week, in terms of writing, I was supposed to produce a draft of section 3.3 (on buyer licensing for drugs) and section 4.2 (on drug self-exclusion), and maybe write a paragraph of "conclusions." I have done thse tasks, amazingly enough, sacrificing quality for -- well, not exactly quantity, but for something tangible (of a sort). Today I was reminded of the old saw about the enemy being the empty page, so I suppose I managed to keep that enemy at bay.

I also was supposed to finish reading the Committee of Fifty's book, but I failed in that quest: now I'm up to page 136 (of 182), though. (On page 113 there is an interesting use of the word "demoralized," perhaps indicating its original meaning. The discussion is about some nationalities that seem to have particular problems with alcohol after they come to the United States. Why? The book suggests that they "become demoralized by the high wages that they receive and drink to excess.") I wanted to make progress on reading two other books, too, but I failed. So for this coming week, I will reiterate my old reading goals: finish the Committee of Fifty's book, and make some progress on Daniel Okrent's Last Call and on the 1905 book on saloons.

As for the thinking part, including the application of behavioral economics models, well, that remains for the future. For Tuesday's draft, I would like to add a couple of paragraphs (one on California's initiative to legalize marijuana and a second to augment the drug self-exclusion section), and perhaps a table to summarize heroin licensing. We'll see.