4 ms·

If they aren’t going to charge you for drugs surely they could arrest you for public intoxicating or disorderly conduct. Drunk people get arrested frequently. P

by wil421 7y ago

If they aren’t going to charge you for drugs surely they could arrest you for public intoxicating or disorderly conduct. Drunk people get arrested frequently. Put them in the drunk tank, sober them up, suggest or provide rehab options, and let them out with a small cash fine. If they want to get into some kind of treatment or non-profit home waive the fine. The goal is to provide incentives to get sober but not ruin someone’s job prospects forever for being addicted.

sandworm101 7y ago
>> Put them in the drunk tank, sober them up, suggest or provide rehab options, and let them out with a small cash fine. That is Hollywood, not reality. Tossing happy drunks into cells to sober up overnight is not a thing. (1) There are no happy drunks. The drunks cops arrest are loud and aggressive. Often the physical act of arresting them results in more violent behavior. (2) "Drunk" is not a thing for cops. They don't know if the person has had too many beers or had just taken LSD, or both. If they assume a person is simply drunk, and that person dies in the cell of an overdose, the cops will be responsible because they isolated that person. Cops are forced to treat intoxicated persons is more like patients than a 'drunks'. (3) Mental health problems can look like, or at least exacerbate, intoxication. Cops cannot casually lock people up under the assumption they are dunk when in all likelihood they may be a non-drunk person in the middle of an episode. So cops must test people, evaluate them to determine what is at play. That takes time/money. (4) Police cells are not happy places. They aren't private 8x4s with a soft cot. Spend a night in an LA lockup. You will not be getting much sleep. Casually throwing hundreds of drunk people into that mix will not help. Assuming this is just about happy drunks, businesses that get people drunk and let them loose on the streets share the responsibility. We cannot allow bars and liquor stores, and their patrons, to rely on a pleasant police force ready to keep drunk people safe after the bar closes. If a bar is going to serve someone to the point of arrest-worthy intoxication they must contribute to the cost of keeping that person safe. I saw a BBC doc yesterday about drinking in the UK. They have stores selling 3-liter bottles of 7.5% cider for four dollars. That is ridiculous. 3-liter bottles of dirt-cheap alcohol, cheaper than coke, are not bought by happy social drinkers. Any store selling those knows what it is doing.
- wil421 7y ago
  People are constantly arrested at sports events and music festivals for being too drunk. I’m not saying it’s a happy experience like an old TV show or movie. I know at least 30 friends, family, fraternity brothers, and classmates who were arrested for being drunk in college or minor possession of alcohol for doing something stupid and being too young. I also know people who had drug habits when they were 18/19 and were arrested for drugs. Some quit college immediately because they knew their job prospects would be limited. Last time I went to a baseball game someone got arrested for having a thc vape. It’s a felony in my state.
  - Clubber 7y ago
    Unfortunately, at least in the US, the societal "cure" for drugs is most often far worse than damage from the actual drug.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - koolba 7y ago
    > People are constantly arrested at sports events and music festivals for being too drunk. I’m not saying it’s a happy experience like an old TV show or movie. Context and witnesses matter as well. There's a big difference between the police being called to handle drunks at a sports event and a passer by calling 911 to report someone intoxicated on the street. There's no context for the latter.
  - sandworm101 7y ago
    Music festivals, baseball games and college? Not everyone can afford baseball games and music festivals. That isn't the typical drunk arrest. Those are the polite cops. Back when I did this stuff I dealt with clients attested under bridges, while at work, on their porches, even in their own bedrooms. Permission to 'lock up drunks' is an open door for every police corruption and bias.
    - 7y ago
smileysteve 7y ago
> Put them in the drunk tank, sober them up, suggest or provide rehab options, and let them out with a small cash fine Thats sounds great except 1. Accusing the police of questionable arrest tactics, mistreatment, death while in police custody (even from lack of treatment) is already a PR issue that has caused huge public outcry. 2. Overdosing and sobering up isn't strictly safe on alcohol or on opioids. Where drug overdoses are a top killer in society right now. 3. Homeless and drug addled people don't have the cash to pay a small cash fine. They just spent it on their last score, or the only cash they have is stolen or pan handled. And if they don't have the money to pay, you've just criminalized them more or put them further into a debt they will never pay. 4. Denial is the first sign of a problem. Sure, tell a stranger to go to rehab. Thanks to the undoing of forced institutionalizing, that's all you can offer.

by wil421 7y ago

sandworm101 7y ago

>> Put them in the drunk tank, sober them up, suggest or provide rehab options, and let them out with a small cash fine. That is Hollywood, not reality. Tossing happy drunks into cells to sober up overnight is not a thing. (1) There are no happy drunks. The drunks cops arrest are loud and aggressive. Often the physical act of arresting them results in more violent behavior. (2) "Drunk" is not a thing for cops. They don't know if the person has had too many beers or had just taken LSD, or both. If they assume a person is simply drunk, and that person dies in the cell of an overdose, the cops will be responsible because they isolated that person. Cops are forced to treat intoxicated persons is more like patients than a 'drunks'. (3) Mental health problems can look like, or at least exacerbate, intoxication. Cops cannot casually lock people up under the assumption they are dunk when in all likelihood they may be a non-drunk person in the middle of an episode. So cops must test people, evaluate them to determine what is at play. That takes time/money. (4) Police cells are not happy places. They aren't private 8x4s with a soft cot. Spend a night in an LA lockup. You will not be getting much sleep. Casually throwing hundreds of drunk people into that mix will not help. Assuming this is just about happy drunks, businesses that get people drunk and let them loose on the streets share the responsibility. We cannot allow bars and liquor stores, and their patrons, to rely on a pleasant police force ready to keep drunk people safe after the bar closes. If a bar is going to serve someone to the point of arrest-worthy intoxication they must contribute to the cost of keeping that person safe. I saw a BBC doc yesterday about drinking in the UK. They have stores selling 3-liter bottles of 7.5% cider for four dollars. That is ridiculous. 3-liter bottles of dirt-cheap alcohol, cheaper than coke, are not bought by happy social drinkers. Any store selling those knows what it is doing.

wil421 7y ago
People are constantly arrested at sports events and music festivals for being too drunk. I’m not saying it’s a happy experience like an old TV show or movie. I know at least 30 friends, family, fraternity brothers, and classmates who were arrested for being drunk in college or minor possession of alcohol for doing something stupid and being too young. I also know people who had drug habits when they were 18/19 and were arrested for drugs. Some quit college immediately because they knew their job prospects would be limited. Last time I went to a baseball game someone got arrested for having a thc vape. It’s a felony in my state.
- Clubber 7y ago
  Unfortunately, at least in the US, the societal "cure" for drugs is most often far worse than damage from the actual drug.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- koolba 7y ago
  > People are constantly arrested at sports events and music festivals for being too drunk. I’m not saying it’s a happy experience like an old TV show or movie. Context and witnesses matter as well. There's a big difference between the police being called to handle drunks at a sports event and a passer by calling 911 to report someone intoxicated on the street. There's no context for the latter.
- sandworm101 7y ago
  Music festivals, baseball games and college? Not everyone can afford baseball games and music festivals. That isn't the typical drunk arrest. Those are the polite cops. Back when I did this stuff I dealt with clients attested under bridges, while at work, on their porches, even in their own bedrooms. Permission to 'lock up drunks' is an open door for every police corruption and bias.
  - 7y ago

smileysteve 7y ago

> Put them in the drunk tank, sober them up, suggest or provide rehab options, and let them out with a small cash fine Thats sounds great except 1. Accusing the police of questionable arrest tactics, mistreatment, death while in police custody (even from lack of treatment) is already a PR issue that has caused huge public outcry. 2. Overdosing and sobering up isn't strictly safe on alcohol or on opioids. Where drug overdoses are a top killer in society right now. 3. Homeless and drug addled people don't have the cash to pay a small cash fine. They just spent it on their last score, or the only cash they have is stolen or pan handled. And if they don't have the money to pay, you've just criminalized them more or put them further into a debt they will never pay. 4. Denial is the first sign of a problem. Sure, tell a stranger to go to rehab. Thanks to the undoing of forced institutionalizing, that's all you can offer.