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"Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. " It's definitely selection bias. I too lived in an urban/cool area with

"Almost all of the drug users I know are highly motivated and very successful people. " It's definitely selection bias. I too lived in an urban/cool area with 'pro' drug users and (mostly) never saw a problem, though there was one accidental OD in my circle. But get out into the real world, working class areas where meth and crack in particular have laid waste - it's another story. Rural areas, working class areas, ghettos - another story - and I think they represent the 'majority' of users by far. In fact - I think that this bias is the #1 contributor to the misinformation about 'the war on drugs'.

throwaway729 10y ago
> It's definitely selection bias. As I stated in another thread, the "all drug users are lazy" mythos is also a form of selection bias. The only difference is that my selection bias isn't being used as a justification for jailing people. I think that's an important difference. > Rural areas, working class areas, ghettos - another story - and I think they represent the 'majority' of users by far. We see similar harms from excessive tobacco and alcohol abuse in those communities, but we don't outlaw those drugs. So, why do we draw the arbitrary line where we do? And how, exactly, does jailing these people actually help anything? Basically, I don't take this argument seriously unless the person advocating it is in favor of marijuana legalization or else supports alcohol prohibition.