Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It is my understanding that more people get and stay clean within the Salvation Army's Step- Based programs than anywhere else. By the time they hit the Salvation Army, most have lost everything and are living on the streets.
12 Steps works when you work the Steps, bla, blah, blah. Many who attend meetings are court- ordered to do so and use it as an opportunity to make new connections- unhealthy connections. Women in particular seem far more vulnerable in coed meetings. A certain type of man trolls AA/ NA meetings seeking vulnerable female companionship.
12 Step programs are also used in Codependency Recovery Groups. Spouces, siblings and parents are often profoundly prone of loving the addict in their life into an early grave. I have come across a few parent who would score on behalf of their adult child to keep them out of harm's way. At the end of the day, it's an ego thing- a belief that one can control other people.
When the alternative is prison, most don't challenge the higher authority thing.
( I am not an advocate of any particular recovery approach)
Prison will not cure addiction. You can take a full-blown addict and lock him up for 30 years in a place he can't find his drug of choice. Unless the addict wants to kick, however, as soon as he is released he will be back on the street looking for a connection.
The ones who finally make it into "recovering" status are those who have found their own private bottom and developed a desire to rid themselves of the habit. I have been there for the last 33 years. I admitted to myself that I was an addict when my son was five days old. I lost a thriving business with seven employees as a result of seeking treatment, and almost lost my house and my family. It's a long story. All I can tell you is, I'm one of the lucky ones. I have no intentions of trying it again. I am still and addict, but inactive. I will die an addict, hopefully still inactive.
The US does not view healthcare as a right, let alone drug treatment. Can you imagine US government trucks making home deliveries of Methadone to opiate/ Opioid addicts, funded with tax payer monies or debt?
No government help to kick the addiction either. You shouldn't have tried it in the first place. And no Narcan either. You OD, then your drug buddy better have a set of jumper cables to zap you back. It won't take long to work itself out.
By whose or what authority is any substance made illegal?
This most relevant of all questions/thoughts in the thread got glossed over, so I figured I'd repeat it for you.
Seriously, by whose authority is what a person voluntarily puts into their own body made illegal? Forget the wild inconsistency in the laws designed to protect us all from ourselves, and ask where did this power to regulate what other people ingest come from?
I think drugs are foolish, but I think the new KFC "fried chicken between two donuts" sandwich is even more foolish. Why is one legal, and the other is not, and how did government gain the power to say one way or the other?
I am calling BS. There is no such thing as a functional heroin addict or meth tweaker. Neither should be driving cars or raising children and they have huge health problems. If people on hard drugs had zero impact on me, I would be fine with legalizing drugs, but they don't. They have a huge impact on the rest of us.
Definitely are functional heroin users, as there are functional alcoholics. Both can go for many many years, and actually alcoholism is more deadly in the long run due to liver damage. Meth is another story; not as many of those but I am sure they are out there too. I can assure you that there are functional addicts around you every single day, that work beside you and you would never know.
I can see legitimate arguments for legalizing most drugs but I draw the line at drugs like heroin and methamphetamine due to how addictive they are and how destructive they are to people who are addicted to them. In addition, there aren't many casual users of those drugs. On the other hand plenty of people smoke weed from time to time and it doesn't affect their lives negatively at all. I think people arrested for hard drugs should be placed into mandatory rehab followed by probation rather than serve a prison sentence.
So what is the hardest drug that you think should be legalized?
People are people, not my slaves. I am in position to tell them what they can or cannot do with their own bodies as long as nobody is forced to cover their medical expenses.
No government help to kick the addiction either. You shouldn't have tried it in the first place. And no Narcan either. You OD, then your drug buddy better have a set of jumper cables to zap you back. It won't take long to work itself out.
"you shouldn't have tried it in the first place" MANY people have started the addiction process by just going to the Drs.
The gov should not be in the business of telling people what to put in their bodies.
I don't think addiction would drastically increase.
Most people are aware of the downsides of drugs like heroin and meth and most will still choose not to use them.
On the other hand, it might actually help addicts get the help they need if they are no longer afraid to seek it out because of potential legal penalties.
I can see legitimate arguments for legalizing most drugs but I draw the line at drugs like heroin and methamphetamine due to how addictive they are and how destructive they are to people who are addicted to them. In addition, there aren't many casual users of those drugs. On the other hand plenty of people smoke weed from time to time and it doesn't affect their lives negatively at all. I think people arrested for hard drugs should be placed into mandatory rehab followed by probation rather than serve a prison sentence.
So what is the hardest drug that you think should be legalized?
Experts: Alcohol More Harmful Than Crack or Heroin
Substance Abuse Ranked According to Harm to User and Society
The needs of society have be come over the wants of the individual. It would be nice if the stupid druggies dropped dead, but they leave kids and there are great medical costs. I'm not sure any harmful drug should be legal. I favor trying decriminalization and treatment to see if that stems the drug epidemic.
I'd say we should be banning addictive or physically harmful drugs, but then we allow sales of nicotine. We should be spending more money on researching cures for addiction. Why aren't we?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
