Miami Miscellaneous


miamijimf

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From 4101 Pine Tree Drive, Miami Beach with some nice alternative views we see in the fall 1985 episode “One Way Ticket”.  Primarily the 41st St bridge and Indian Creek Dr.

These are so relevant I’ll post in “One Way Ticket” also.

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Edited by Matt5
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Dinner Key Marina , Coconut Grove circa 1970

(“Whatever Works”, “Out Where the Buses Don’t Run”).

Looking north to locations used in “Redemption in Blood”, “Down for the Count” (Part 1), “Milk Run”, “Nobody Lives Forever” and the opening credits of “Forgive Us Our Debts”.

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Edited by Matt5
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is there still coke smuggling in the Glades. i can't find clear info about it on the net. some say now 95% of the drug goes through Mexico, others say that still 20% transit in the Caribbean, very likely Florida? do you hear/read such stories in the papers in South Florida

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vor 23 Stunden schrieb jpaul1:

is there still coke smuggling in the Glades. i can't find clear info about it on the net. some say now 95% of the drug goes through Mexico, others say that still 20% transit in the Caribbean, very likely Florida? do you hear/read such stories in the papers in South Florida

I have no concrete source of a SFL newspaper to quote, but Miami has lost most of its significance for drug imports to other parts of the US. The routes via Mexico seem to be shorter and easier (tunnels!) than to go via Miami.  Also the cartels dominating US drug abuse are mostly Mexican now, not South American. Just imagine how easy it was smuggling in on a boat in the 80s compared to now (dense coast guard, radar&special screening ...).

This is one of the reasons why a MV remake would not work anymore. Miami was a special seedy place with a special situation (Castro refugees, easy smuggling from Colombia) in the 80s but that has changed a lot. When I lived in Miami, half of the town was a war zone and some tourists even got killed after taking the wrong exit from the airport. Now the worst district looks better as the best one back then.

 

Edited by Tom
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A great 1989 pamphlet of the historic Art Deco district in SoBe for tourists. It includes lot of VICE locations, like Club Nu, Woody´s on the beach and Wet Paint Cafe. Including addresses and telephone numbers. Very interesting to see the line up of cafes on Lincoln Road.

pamphlets_176.pdf

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On 1/23/2021 at 4:45 PM, jpaul1 said:

is there still coke smuggling in the Glades. i can't find clear info about it on the net. some say now 95% of the drug goes through Mexico, others say that still 20% transit in the Caribbean, very likely Florida? do you hear/read such stories in the papers in South Florida

I try to keep up with the latest happenings in my home town by reading the Herald, web sites, local TV stations etc.  I agree that new technology and efforts by the Coast Guard, DEA, and Customs have reduced the amount of smuggling that takes place in S. Fla.  The drugs are still coming in but mainly through the southern border of the U.S.  Nevertheless I remember a news story within a year or so that reported a huge amount of cocaine seized by the Coast Guard at Port Everglades near Ft. Lauderdale.  There was another  large drug seizure in the Miami area not too long ago also.  Unfortunately I didn't save the articles that described those busts and can't find the articles to quote but drug smugglers are still trying to bring in drugs through S. Fla.  As long as there is so much money involved, the smugglers will continue to try to bring the stuff in.

Edited by miamijimf
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some internet maps show 20-25% of Colombian coke transiting in Porto rico, and Haïti. but i couldn't find info on where it goes next, Florida, Carolinas?

i think drug smuggling in SF is still possible. not by plane, but by boat. as there is lot of boating in the area. so a small boat that sneaks fast is still realistic IMO

i don't know if Mexico produces coke. as the coca used for the drug has to be grown between 1000 and 4000 m. i know they produces lot of weed, and a few heroïn too. but i don't know if they have coca fields. however Colombia is still a big coke producer. i think it's still #1 in the world. it doesn't have big cartels anymore, but it still have lot of gangs, and pseudo-guerillan groups. And for having lived there, i can tell that because of its geography if you don't have the budget of the USA, or Europe, or Russia, it's an extremelly difficult place to watch over. some places are very mountainous with almost no roads. and would imply a checking of almost every mountain face

personnally i think a MV is still possible. because AFAIK even if the drug smuggling has dropped a lot, there's still lot of crime in the area (lot of crack). and Florida is still a major destination for cocaïne smuggling. even if most of the production arrives from inland now

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The only thing I have to add is that cocaine use in the US is much lower than it was in the 80’s and early 90’s and that has to play a role.  Demand effects price and that price effects the level of risk deemed acceptable by smugglers.  There were some pretty brazen schemes carried out in Miami in the 80’s, but the demand meant a massive payoff if it worked.  If you can only get a fraction of that price now, how much risk are you willing to take?

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nope, it doesn't have decreased. there never had been so many demand for coke than now. before it was reserved to the very poor (basuco), or the elite (refined), but now that the prices have dropped, there's a very high demand, especially (and sadly) even from the middle class. check the link below (first pages) for global production numbers

every time i checked that thing, i got the same stuff. narco police saying that their catches whatever the amount, the flow keeps going like nothing happened. it happened after tranquilandia op (destruction by police of the Medelllin cartel refinery complex), and i read similar stories afterwards

el chapo (mexican kingpin) was ranked 50th world most powerful people by Forbes before he got arrested (in 2016). i don't think he would have achieved this if the cocaïne was low in demand.

narcos are like a bubble into a water bottle. whatever you do, they'll move around. I think (said think) the solution that could work would be the radical legalization solution. it gave very good results in Portugal. in Portugal the legalization contributed to gave 'human faces' to junkies, thus giving them the envy of getting out of their addiction. and this is the problem heart

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjMmorXzrfuAhVlEWMBHe1QCE0QFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.unodc.org%2Fdocuments%2Fwdr%2FWDR_2010%2F1.3_The_globa_cocaine_market.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1XAE3nUiwkQh4UsZykTIMc

Edited by jpaul1
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I am referring to only US demand as opposed to global demand or global production.  I have no doubt global production is up, and it appears global use is up, but until the last couple of years, US consumption was declining as a percentage of the population using the drug.  Over 6% of the US population used cocaine in the period Miami Vice aired.  The number is less than half now.

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Source: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

Edited by pahonu
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vor einer Stunde schrieb pahonu:

I am referring to only US demand as opposed to global demand or global production.  I have no doubt global production is up, and it appears global use is up, but until the last couple of years, US consumption was declining as a percentage of the population using the drug.  Over 6% of the US population used cocaine in the period Miami Vice aired.  The number is less than half now.

8D5967FC-5420-4710-B65E-47166F9975DC.jpeg

Source: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

So, we go from Detective Crockett to Crockett, M.D. now... "Miami Vice" turns into "Scrubs"...

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24 minutes ago, Tom said:

So, we go from Detective Crockett to Crockett, M.D. now... "Miami Vice" turns into "Scrubs"...

Sad but true. Medicine should help people not destroy them.

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54 minutes ago, Glades said:

Sad but true. Medicine should help people not destroy them.

Unfortunately right now the biggest drug problem is, not the use, but the abuse of legal drugs that are otherwise beneficial, like oxycodone, etc...

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1 hour ago, jpaul1 said:

It includes all types in each of the categories.  I think the US, being the third most populous nation, might be the reason the arrows you mention are so large pointing here.  It’s relative, and I was pointing out simply that cocaine use here has dropped since the era of Miami Vice.  The US may very well be the single largest user of cocaine in the world right now, but it is still a lower rate of usage than in the 80’s. 

Edited by pahonu
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Seriously I don't smoke pot but I have a long term friend who does and lives in a state where it has been recently legalized.  According to him the legal pot is good but much too expensive and he would rather buy from a local contact than go into one of those stores.  Legalization will not solve all the problems with drugs.  Just like Crockett and Tubbs realized later in the series, a groundbreaking admission for TV, the anti-drug campaign is a losing proposition.  We should take a lesson from history that few people these days pay attention to.  Prohibition did not keep people from drinking.  As long as there is a demand and money is involved, there will always be a black market.

Edited by miamijimf
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vor 22 Minuten schrieb miamijimf:

Seriously I don't smoke pot but I have a long term friend who does and lives in a state where it has been recently legalized.  According to him the legal pot is good but much too expensive and he would rather buy from a local contact than go into one of those stores.  Legalization will not solve all the problems with drugs.  Just like Crockett and Tubbs realized later in the series, a groundbreaking admission for TV, the anti-drug campaign is a losing proposition.  We should take a lesson from history that few people these days pay attention to.  Prohibition did not keep people from drinking.  As long as there is a demand and money is involved, there will always be a black market.

The reason why legal drugs are more expensive is because their producers need to follow laws and production protocols and illegal suppliers don´t. Well, legalization would therefore probably lower the profit margin by higher supply on an open market and make it cheaper, but not abolish the problem as you say and legalizing very dangerous substances by authorities is an issue in its own right.

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Most of you are not old enough to remember but Vice was not the first detective TV show to take advantage of the sun and surf etc, of Miami.  And not to mention the criminal, mob, element here.  There was Miami Undercover in 1961 with Rocky Graziano, of all people, that produced  37 episodes.  I vaguely remember it, not great entertainment, but with Larry King, who was arrested for illegal activity in Miami.  Not to diminish a great career, everyone makes mistakes.

 

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20 hours ago, miamijimf said:

Most of you are not old enough to remember but Vice was not the first detective TV show to take advantage of the sun and surf etc, of Miami.  And not to mention the criminal, mob, element here.  There was Miami Undercover in 1961 with Rocky Graziano, of all people, that produced  37 episodes.  I vaguely remember it, not great entertainment, but with Larry King, who was arrested for illegal activity in Miami.  Not to diminish a great career, everyone makes mistakes.

 

Great Jim.

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Circa 1963 Miami Beach a great view from South Pointe Park.

”Buddies” shot numerous scenes on Ocean Drive and 1st St  (and south) as well as at the Corsair (101), “Death and the Lady” and “Sons and Lovers” shot their too.

”Love at First Sight” and “Miracle Man” shot in the foreground at South Pointe Park.

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Edited by Matt5
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without the coke traffic Miami would maybe still be like that. this is pretty stunning. 20-30 years, what is it on an human scale. it's nothing. but without all this, and the series would Miami be that glamourous. or would have remained a medium sized carribean town. i'm gonna meditate on that in the deepness of my bed

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6 hours ago, jpaul1 said:

without the coke traffic Miami would maybe still be like that. this is pretty stunning. 20-30 years, what is it on an human scale. it's nothing. but without all this, and the series would Miami be that glamourous. or would have remained a medium sized carribean town. i'm gonna meditate on that in the deepness of my bed

Have you seen Cocaine Cowboys?  Cocaine smuggling brought massive amounts of money to the city and with it, massive changes.  The documentary does a pretty good job of describing the city before this era.  There was tourism and some illegal gambling, the remnants of the military from WWII, and the retirees or “snowbirds” from the northeast. 

Edited by pahonu
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2 hours ago, pahonu said:

There were a couple of follow up documentaries on the same general topic by the same director.  I don’t recall the names off hand.

 

Edited by pahonu
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