Posted on

Loyalty cards for drug dealers

Split photo showing drugs being exchanged and close-ups of French loyalty cards
Example of a French loyalty card for drugs

So, you go into your favorite sandwich shop and they punch your card with each purchase as you work your way toward a free sandwich. You go to your grocery store, and you use a card for members-only discounts. Why can’t a marijuana dealer be like that? Well, in Marsaille, France, it seems that they are.

This article in La Provence (French. English translation by Google) describes how drug dealers in Marseille are trying to give their customers a break and reward them with special discounts for regular customers. Just like your sandwich card they give you a stamp for each purchase. Fill the card up and you qualify for special discounts.

Dealing drugs is illegal in Marsaille, as it is in many places. Yet it seems to be lucrative enough that people not only continue to deal, but engage in marketing programs as well. How weird is that?