Supreme court finds felony drug possession law unconstitutional? (Seattle: crimes, how much)

[rkcarguy]

Following in Oregon's footsteps, it looks like Washington is now on the path to decriminalizing hard drug possession.

https://www.q13fox.com/news/washingt...constitutional

[NJguy1986]

This is crazy!!!

[MechAndy]

I am an anti drug kinda guy.
Lost too many friends to this.

The people that want this are people who think we live in a perfect world.
Where there is free education, medical, rehab and counseling for all.
We are so far from that it is not funny

The liberal side of me doesn’t want to see drug addicts go to jail but rather into rehab.
The thing is we are just not near that yet.

I think doing jail time just makes people learn how to be better criminals.

That said I do feel we need to hand out jail time at this time because if we don’t we will be over run by the ugly faster than you can spit.

Just yesterday I heard (on the internet so you know it has to be true) if we didn’t go to war in the Middle East like the gulf war and such we could have had free health care for all with the money we wasted.

[TheTimidBlueBars]

I can understand the argument that there should be some kind of penalty for drug possession, so that people who might be on the fence about trying a hard drug decide not to do it. But I definitely don't think we should be locking people up for years over it. A fine or community service would work just as well.

An important finding in criminology has been that people don't really respond differently based on the severity of a law, but do respond based on how likely they are to get caught. Think about it. When you're driving on the highway and decide to slow down, because you're worried about getting pulled over, you're not thinking about how much money the ticket would be for your speed --- you're thinking about how likely it is that you'll see a cop and you're the fastest person on the road at that time.

[Willamette City]

I completely agree with this. Drug crimes should involve fines at most. If an individual is addicted then treatment may be appropriate. Treatment is not inexpensive though at about $1000 per day. Jail time serves no useful purpose.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

.........The liberal side of me doesn’t want to see drug addicts go to jail but rather into rehab.......

It's an enormous waste of taxpayer money to send drug addicts to mandatory rehab. No druggie is going to stop using drugs until it is his own idea and he seeks treatment because he wants it. Make rehab available, but don't waste the time and money by sentencing druggies to go and attend.


And fines for drug crimes? All their money goes into drugs. They don't have money to pay fines.


The positive side to locking up addicts is that it warehouses them so they can't be out stealing, mugging, and doing home invasions to get the money they need to buy their drugs. It may not do the addict much good to lock him up, but it is a big help to the general population.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Coming back to add my thanks from other states. Seattle and Portland absorb a lot of the homeless population, working hard to attract them and keep them, and that helps to reduce their numbers on other states.


Now, Washington and Oregon can attract masses of drug addicts, reducing their numbers in other states.


Myself, if I had a drug problem, I'd be quite happy to move to where it is legal and I could stop worrying about being arrested and I could wander around and buy with impunity, with no worries of undercover stings. So, yeah! Washington bound for me. Washington has better welfare than Oregon, so the best choice would be Washington.


Expect some new population moving in, Washington.

[MechAndy]

Umm...,
OWS I think we are closer to this than you might think.

I don’t think this current system works.
I also don’t believe in a free lunch type system.

Personally I favor a “ big stick/little stick” system.

Meaning if the little stick ain’t working it might be time for the big stick.

All the best.

[Driver 47]

Kind of a self solving issue when you think about it. Use drugs ? You're on your own. The coroners van'll take them straight to the morgue. It'l save everyone time & medical expense. Heartless ? Perhaps, but pragmatic.

[rkcarguy]

A lot of you are missing the big picture. This encourages the use of hard drugs, and will expand what is already happening in Seattle to metro's state wide. Dealers in Seattle already know the drill, only carry a little and if caught, it's for "personal use". Then they revisit their stash dozens of times each day. It creates an open market for what is still an illegal substance, complete with supply chain and competition. Competition being, one dealer shoots another one for selling in their territory, and "oops" half a dozen pedestrians were hit/killed in the shootout.
Then the obvious, more druggies means more theft and violence. Way to double down on stupid, WA state.