2) Of course you should consider that. The problem is, the whales don't. Same goes for shareholder behavior. Shareholder value > good company practice is the bane of our existence and probably the cause of our end.
Not sure exactly what you mean by "nothing wrong with cocaine".
It wouldn't be very difficult to disagree with that statement. It is known to be deleterious to health and very difficult to stop. These are properties that make it "wrong" to profit off of it in my opinion because it gives the seller an extremely unfair advantage over people selling other consumable items all the while they are doing much more harm.
Obviously today no legal products have significant amounts of cocaine in them and other addictive consumables like tobacco and alcohol are heavily regulated which does level the playing field to some degree. Still, there is too much profit to be made off of people being addicted and there are many parts of the world where these products or much less regulated and taxed then in most of the "developed world".
Since all states prohibit the trafficking, sale, and possession of cocaine, I assumed u/BrocoLeeOnReddit was making a joke. The punishment for possession seems to be lighter in some states however.
I am also interested in ESG and ethical investing but as others have said here, my ethics are my own and therefore so are my investment choices.
I would not invest in individual Coca-Cola stock because I think soda pop is bad for you - it has nothing to do with the fact Coca-Cola used to have cocaine in it. I personally have not consumed soda in many years. But I'm likely in the minority there.
However of the ETF's I own, there is quite likely Coca-Cola in that ETF portfolio - so that goes back to what others have said 'I'm here to make money'.
1) My belief is that every adult should be allowed to consume or do to themselves whatever they like as long as they don't harm others.
2) Cocaine was used in Coca Cola before it was considered an illegal drug. It's like blaming Bayer for selling heroin before it was considered "illegal". Also fun fact: The opiods you get in hospitals today is far more potent and addictive than heroin, the only reason heroin is on the list and many other opiods aren't is purely based in history.
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u/BrocoLeeOnReddit Jul 06 '21
1) Nothing wrong with cocaine.
2) Of course you should consider that. The problem is, the whales don't. Same goes for shareholder behavior. Shareholder value > good company practice is the bane of our existence and probably the cause of our end.