There was word some time ago that some drug dealers in some parts of the USA had started taking Tide as payment for drugs. (Yes, Tide the LAUNDRY DETERGENT!). And some drug addicts have been stealing it in somewhat large and even small quantities in order to pay said drug dealers. It's gotten so bad until many of the pharmacies that sell it have had to remove the detergent from the shelves and place it under lock and key to prevent it from being stolen.
Why does this work for the dealers?
In their environment, Tide is a very popular product. It's not on anybody's "anti-list" like large sums of US or other currency, and it's easy to move by either selling for cash to working single moms or by just trading the cash for something else. Plus, depending on the drugs in question, they can just get the single moms to bring them certain medicines that are used as an ingredient in making crystal meth that has purchase restrictions instead of cash. By having a large pool of people purchasing their ingredient that is restricted for trading for the detergent, they kill two birds with one stone while avoiding the whole "what to do with the cash" scenario. Most of the people who would steal the Tide from a drug dealer are probably known to the drug dealers already, plus the bottles are big/heavy enough that getting away with a high value of it is kind of hard due to its size and weight.
finally an explanation that makes sense! Thank you, I've been trying to figure that one out with no satisfaction so far.
When I first heard about it I couldn't help but laugh. But maybe they're onto something . . . and maybe we all need to start looking into popular things that can be traded really easily. Perhaps it's time to start stocking up on popular but expensive wines and liquors not to consume but to be used as a form of payment.
Cigarettes are a classic. One criterion for something to be used as money in such a way is that it's in wide everyday use. It also has to be divisible and hard enough to produce. Cigarettes are a good fit and known to be used frequently as money, for example in jails or taxis.
So actually one of the first things one should do in preparation of some sort of monetary armageddon is to quit smoking. Damn!
Might I suggest Jack Daniels and a few other choice liquors to go along with your cigarettes? Nothing too rare, but maybe you might want to consider a few different levels of the liquor . . .
Cigarettes are much better when it comes to traveling, though, because if something happens and you have to evacuate it's pretty easy to grab a backpack or duffel bag filled with cartons of smokes. Also, if you're in the US (or near a US military base overseas) it might be wise to strike up a friendship with someone in the US military, especially if that someone doesn't smoke. Because they might go shopping for you on base and bring you back a few cartons . . . at a much better price than what you can get yourself. I don't smoke, but I certainly didn't mind going shopping for a friend every now and then back when I was in the military.
And come to think of it, the liquor is probably still be cheaper on base too.