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People just don't go, "Oh, I feel like trying meth today." Usually it's almost some helpless, self-hatred "kill myself slowly" mentality that leads someone to try drugs in the first place.
I agree with all your points. I'll say the reason I've tried drugs is that I enjoy temporarily changing the way my brain makes connections. But I stick with tryptamines and the occasional dissociative and cannabis a few times a year, I wouldn't touch opiates / opioids, amphetamines / meth, coke/crack, etc.
Last edited by Nepenthe; 08-09-2016 at 02:49 PM..
Reason: fixed spelling of "opioids"
I encourage people to watch the show "Intervention". I work at a rehab so I see this population directly, but those who don't I think should open their eyes. They show the backstories of these people who usually had abusive parents, victims of sexual abuse (child or adult), death of a loved one, divorce, economic downfall, etc. that led them to drug abuse. It's really sad how people fall into this with hard drugs... But it's what happens... It's suicidal thinking, self-hatred thinking that leads to it. Not just boredom or uneducated, I think even the dumbest Americans know meth and heroine is bad for you, they just don't care about themselves anymore to give a rat's ass. It's sad.
Yes...money that goes into the drug war can be applied towards infrastructure and the money from drug taxes can go toward education and rehabilitation. After seeing what happened in Portugal, I don't see any reason for all drugs to be illegal.
Frankly, I think that your mentality here is taking it too far. After all, some people do make stupid decisions and choices. However, such people should be given help and treatment rather than jailed if their only offense is putting some drugs inside of their own bodies.
Indeed, shouldn't the right to privacy extend to this?
I used to be a long time volunteer at a hospital detox/ treatment center. Most " guests" we're addicted to Opiates/ Opioids. The junk rewires the brain to protect and sustain addiction. An addict needs his dope the way a normie needs air.
There are 3 typical outcomes:
Incarceration ( shoplifting, return scams, robbery, burglury and trade are more common than simple posession)
Institutionalization ( Detox/rehab/treatment is big business. Rehab does not cure addiction. Most relapse again and again.
Death
Addiction impacts the entire family, parents, siblings, spouces and children. Nothing quite like knowing your spouse pawned your wedding ring/ band, blew your paycheck, left the family without food, stole blank checks, your kid and pals broke into your house multiple time and stole everything not nailed down. Your dad stole your X- box.
Most of these families become enablers. They don't report theft to the Police because they don't want to ruin the addict's life, ignoring the addict is ruining his own life. They believe they somehow caused it, can control it and cure it. In many cases, the family is sicker than their dope sick loved one.
Then there's the pregnant addict.........
I have never met an addict who intended to become addicted. They all believed they could control it until it controlled them. Even then, they tend to be in denial.
The only method proven to turn around a substantial hard drug culture is harsh punishment. Back when China was in the depths of Opium addiction, they adopted harsh consequences- shoot to kill. Singapore is not far behind. Over time it becomes culturally unacceptable to engage in or associate with people into drugs.
Voluntary drug treatment has lousy outcomes. Court ordered drug treatment has even worse outcomes. You tend not to see many older addicts because either they die or a small percentage manage to kick it, for good and will forever be one bad decision away from a relapse- right back where they started.
In my experience there tends to be two types of people who advocate for legalizing hard drugs, addicts and those they have not seen the beast up close and personal.
In my experience there tends to be two types of people who advocate for legalizing hard drugs, addicts and those they have not seen the beast up close and personal.
Ok, then answer this please. We saw that prohibition of alcohol didn't work, it just made things worse. We are seeing that prohibition of marijuana also has not worked. What makes you think that prohibition of harder drugs works any better?
Do you support decriminalizing the consumption of all drugs?
As for me, I am tempted to vote Yes since I think that, even for the extremely dangerous drugs, we should go after the producers (by prosecuting them, obviously) while providing help and treatment--rather than jail time--to the consumers.
Indeed, any thoughts on this?
No, just the gigantic tablets of which I taje three with each meal.
Alcohol is legal. For or against? Depending on how you answer that, you're argument could completely unravel. Bear in mind, alcohol is legal with certain restriction where if your use does impact the lives of others, it can become a crime. Things like drunk driving come to mind. But a perfect Libertarian view would not sacrifice personal freedom for safety under any circumstance anyway, so your argument already seems to be unraveled.
Not really.
The negative impact that drug or alcohol abuse has on society as a whole and on those close to the abusers as individuals does not have to be illegal to be valid. (as in DUI for example)
You can a be pretty bad parent and have a bad infulence on your kids without meeting the legal definition of neglect or child abuse.
Another thing regarding alcohol vs other drugs is that you can have a social drink or two without getting drunk or even intending to.
But pretty much every other illegal drug is used with the intention of getting high.....even people who abuse prescription painkillers do so because they provide an addictive feeling of euphoria and well being.
Yes, there is some social interaction of those who use Weed for example, even a culture that one easily becomes part of as someone who is "cool" (yes, I'm probably dating myself with the slang lol).
But the fact is....everyone who smokes weed, shoots heroin, drops acid or partakes in other illegal drugs does so with the specific intention of getting high.
Not everyone who drinks does so with the intent on getting drunk.
So, saying that because alcohol is legal, then everything else should be too is a slippery slope and a bit of disingenuous thinking too.
I don't care what you do......as long as it has zero effects on me and my loved ones.
But that's not how the reality of many who choose to do drugs works, aside from the occasional use pot smoker or similar users.....most all drugs users have a negative effect on others sooner or later.
If your looking at it from a Libertarian point of view, in that people own themselves and have a right to abuse themselves if they wish....you have to also remember that many drugs, by their very nature reduce the users ability to adhere to the non-aggression principle of "do no harm".
Drug users don't live their lives separate and away from those who are negatively impacted by them.
I agree, but I can't be as generous as you are.
Drug users are leeches. They do not love themselves or others. All they want is the next high.
The people who are negatively impacted by drugs need to stop enabling the addict. The addict they're trying to "help" isn't a son, brother, parent, friend ,etc. It's an addict.
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