The Great Debate: Han Solo is a Drug Trafficker

Throughout the Original Trilogy and furthermore via the Expanded Universe, it has become well established in Star Wars lore that Han Solo is a smuggler, one of his prime shipments being spice.

It is also well known that spice in its many forms is a narcotic, a drug, be it glitterstim or ryll, or one of the other forms of spice... it is a drug of dependance.

Somehow, the perception has grown amongst us fans that smugglers are a noble lot, however rougish and uncouth, the help the right side in their own unique way.

However, this can be nothing farther from the truth. Smugglers generally don't favour a specific side... they remain neutral by trade, selling to the highest bidder... ever looking after their number one goal - their profit... their bottom line.

History will show that Han Solo generally favoured the morally right side during the Galactic Civil War, however, he does have a darker side.

An honorable smuggler would smuggle / transport food, refugees, technology, military hardware... something to help a populace, not hinder it.

Han Solo's darker side is that he is a trafficker or drugs... spice. He had a very profitable market working with Jabba, either bought the drugs from Jabba, then sold them to individuals or smaller groups and taking a cut for himself... or on the other hand, he just took a % from the profits of Jabba's stock sold.

Han Solo might have helped the Rebel Alliance, but nevertheless, he is still a drug trafficker.

Agree or Disagree?!

 

Well, as you said, spice has many forms. It's not really Han's or any other smuggler's fault if their smuggled goods are used inappropriately. Guys who deliver painkillers aren't responsible for all the pill poppers who abuse their goods, and as such, I don't think Han was really a drug trafficker.

And, I mean, look at him. He's so cool.

 

However, your points work against you.

Spice is NOT a medicine. It is a drug of addiction, a narcotic, a hallucigen.

Han Solo, knowingly transporting and spreading this evil vice becomes a drug trafficker, dealer.

 

Who cares? Mara used to be an assassin, Luke killed over one million people, they've all shot, sabered, lightning-ed, or otherwise banged up so many enemies it ain't even funny, Ackbar has killed a lot of people with fleets, Talon's a smuggler, the list goes on and on.

After all that bloody death, people would probably want to get high to forget about it. Han's drug trafficking is more moral than some of the things politicians do, anyway.

 

alpha_red, your points provide your undoing.

See, with all of your examples, each individual, weather they be EVIL or GOOD, thought what they were doing was RIGHT.

Han Solo knew that dealing drugs was BAD, yet still did it anyway!

 

Does this mean I can't see crack to schoolkids and be as cool as Han Solo?



E_S

 

interesting idea. you're right, of course.... han solo did indeed traffic drugs. though i'm not sure if the galaxy considered drug-taking to be evil. drugs might have been regarded a social norm then, much as pre-marital sex is today. he might've been brought up to think that drugs were an significant evil, lesser than those occuring within the ranks of the empire. perhaps glitterstim should be likened to nicotine more than heroine & cocaine, at least in the psychological context.

han had his own firm beliefs in what was right & wrong then: while he didn't believe in the Force & may not have been opposed to drugs, he DID oppose slavery & was of generally sound morals.

and also....
"Spice is NOT a medicine. It is a drug of addiction, a narcotic, a hallucigen.
"
i believe ryll, which was used as one of your examples, has medicinal properties....
but yes, i believe it's been established to some extent that he did have a darker side. after all, he refused to risk his own life to save another on the death star, only being persuaded to do so with the lure of money-- hardly a noble gesture. it was only the friendships he had forged with luke & the others that brought him back to save luke.
but all this only serves to add a dimension of realism to star wars-- nobody's perfect, not even the charming, good-looking hotshot pilot. how his stint with the rebellion changed him has always been one of the better character-development aspects of star wars.

 

It's true, Gath, and its' pretty clear it *was* at the least illegal at the time it happened. You're right; but the correct phrasing in this title would be Han Solo WAS lol. Another example of redemption in SW.

 

How harmful is glittersim (sp), anyways, and all those other drugs and spices?

Since he's doing it outside the law, I suppose he is a drug trafficker, in a technical legal sort of way.

Probably why Mon Cals don't like smugglers, they're 'traffickers.'

 

In JAT, Lando reflects on how *some* of the uses of spice are legal and non-harmful - but only SOME, mind!

 

Spice is NOT a medicine.

that's not true in all cases. ryll, at least, is used as a medicinal painkiller. medicinal uses for other forms of spice may exist, though they have not specifically been mentioned.

It is a drug of addiction, a narcotic, a hallucigen

you're using three terms which are not interchangeable as if they were. narcotics and hallucinogens are not the same thing, and neither is inherently addictive. most narcotics we know on Earth are at least somewhat addictive, whereas there are no known addictive hallucinogens on Earth. however, the addictiveness, or lack thereof, is not essential to the category, so to speak, so it's possible that various addictive and nonaddictive spices are available in the GFFA with narcotic or hallucinogenic effects.

Han Solo knew that dealing drugs was BAD, yet still did it anyway!

did he know or believe that? more importantly, is it bad?

one could say that he believed in free enterprise, getting goods for people that want them. it's not his business to pass judgement on that use.

drugs might have been regarded a social norm then, much as pre-marital sex is today.

exactly. in which case, the Empire would be at fault for restricting the use of something generally considered acceptable. poor policy decision on their part.

 

Gatherer, can't spices be used as a medication for some? I think that that was established somewhere.

An honorable smuggler

Possibly, but you also have to remember that he's living in a world that won't readily allow changes, or demands. Han has already proven that he has some honor, by telling Jabba in The Hutt Gambit that he refuses to transport slaves of any kind, and has gone and freed some from other ships.
In addition, the demand for food and medical supplies are not as high as those for spice. While not ethical, he was stealing from the legally recognized (abit horrible) government in it self, which is another thing that may overshadow his flaws in drug trafficing.
Finally, I seem to remember Han saying something about not liking the spice, and wouldn't let his crew members use it for any purpose.

 

The Gatherer...
The key word is "was." Han Solo was a drug trafficker. He is not one any more.

So, you're still going to fault the man for having made the right decision to correct all the wrongs in his life?

 

Yes, he was. But he was able to go beyond this and become ine of the greatest heroes the GFFA had ever seen.

 

Right. Lest anyone forget, it was Han Solo who dealt the fatal shot to Emperor Palpatine that allowed Brand to trap him.

 

Sure. He was also a pirate. You know, roving the spacelanes and preying on other ships for fun and profit. That's what Lucas calls him consistently throughout the OT scripts...

An armed robber, essentially. Drug-running, robbery with violence, and probably several counts of cold-blooded murder. As well as minor charges like soliciting, desertion, assisting a fugitive, and posession of illegal weapons.

Now to most of us, that's bad stuff. But to Han - to everyone on the amorphous edge of GFFA society known as the fringe - it's just the way the Galaxy is. That's why he shoots first. Because the guy who shoots second is dead.

In some societies, it's a badge of honour. In others, it's just business. And in polite company (and PG-rated profic) it's tacitly acknowledged, and just carries on.

Han isn't even a businessman with aspirations to respectability like Talon Karrde (essentially operating a sizeable shipping line of armed freighters to carry cargos that people like the Empire and NR might not like - but whose business is built on the back of the earlier and more disreputable activities of Booster Terrik and Jorj Car'das), or a small-time cargo hauler looking out for profit margins like Fenig Nabon or Thaddeus Ross.

But at the same time, just how are a Starfleet deserter and an escaped slave going to stay alive and make a living inside the law...?

Join the Rebel Alliance? Yeah, right...

- The Imperial Ewok

 

In Han's defense, he was a trafficker and not a dealer. He let his employers handle the selling, while he took care of the shipping.

Naturally, he still knew exactly what it was he was transporting, and what it would do to whoever bought and consumed it. But then, he can't be held accountable for the desires of others. If spice is their thing, it's not his job to change it.

 

Spice is NOT a medicine. It is a drug of addiction, a narcotic, a hallucigen.

I never said it was. I was just using asprin delivery as an example. If you want another: someone who delivers office supplies isn't at fault if some moron staples his hand to his head. So Han never delivered spice to be drugs. I mean, maybe he delivered spice in its most obvious form - spice for foods.

 

Spice is illeagle in Imperial Space. Han Solo was a drug runner but not exclusivly. He also smuggled illeagle firearms and explosives. Not the mention the fugitives wanted by the legitimate law, whether you agree with the politics or not. His ship had forged ID's, stolen military grade weapons and armor, a military hyperdrive, all of which are illeagle for a civilian ship in the Empire. Sounds like and armed and dangerous drug/gun runner to me.


"Possibly, but you also have to remember that he's living in a world that won't readily allow changes, or demands. Han has already proven that he has some honor, by telling Jabba in The Hutt Gambit that he refuses to transport slaves of any kind, and has gone and freed some from other ships. "

Yes, he refused to ship slaves. He still shiped the spice, which the slaves processed. Oh ya, the slaves were also duped into thinking thery were off to a better life. But Han never transported them, No. He merely helped the Hutts maintain status quo be insuring they would have steady monetary gains.

Han Solo did turn out to be a good guy, but that was after he was paid, got the hots for Leia, and was saved by Luke and Leia, two quite important members of the Rebellion. Maybe he thought he owed them for a change?

 

Here's the thing though: Were there any legal drugs, GFFA equivelents of cigs and booze, in the Empire? The kind the Empire would tax and make a killing on? If so the question becomes why did the Empire not simply nationalise the spice running and get even more cash?

JB

 

Because even the Empire recognized that some things were bad.

If you look at for instance, the way opium destroyed the Chinese society, and the way the Western powers knew what it was doing and approved, you can't really justify Solo. He was just as bad. Nor does being a "trafficker" rather than an actual "dealer" excuse him. Wrong is wrong, period.

And I don't see where he has ever really or recanted. Or where any of his compatriots have ever really brought up anything else about it either.

 

But why would Palp give a toss?

JB

 

The Emperor wanted a productive society, not a hopped-up one.

You can't get Death Stars built if everyone's doing the SW equivalent of "LSD" all day.

 

You can't get Death Stars built if everyone's doing the SW equivalent of "LSD" all day.

Kinda makes you wonder what it would have looked like had they been, however.

"...why is yellow? And who put all those peace signs and Doors logos all over the super laser?"

Solo was a traficker, not a dealer. He shipped it, he didn't sell it- and not like he was standing on the streets of Nar Shadda asking kids if they want to buy some ryl. However, that doesn't change that what he did was against the law, ( the morality of what he was doing is somewhat nebulous, since you're always going to have people who insist on being ****ed in life. And if they don't have spice, they'd be smoking bantha poodoo or snorting hawkbat dandur.)

And he gave it up and doesn't do it anymore. And he's a hero many times over. He has...redeemed himself, unlike someone else I could mention. And like Alpha Red said, given the exploits of others, knocking him because he smuggled dope is kinda silly.

 

The Emperor wanted a productive society, not a hopped-up one.

Still, I would think that, even if the Empire controlled the drug market with everyone 'hopped up on the equivalent of LSD', they would have more than enough workers to rule a productive society. I mean, the GFFA is an enormous place and out of the entire population of the galaxy, I would estimate that not even close to a fourth of the 'citizens' would be druggies.