5 ms·

End the war on drugs and alot of the police work will vanish. In the U.S. they'll need to sort out the opiate crisis which frankly is weird to see anyway becau

End the war on drugs and alot of the police work will vanish. In the U.S. they'll need to sort out the opiate crisis which frankly is weird to see anyway because it's the corporations who are the drug barons.

newfriend 7y ago
Drugs are highly illegal in Japan, yet there is no major drug crisis -- which seems to indicate that it's a cultural problem, and not related to enforcement and illegality. It could even be argued that extremely harsh punishments for drug related crimes could act as a deterrent.
- Nursie 7y ago
  > Drugs are highly illegal in Japan, yet there is no major drug crisis Arguably Japan is rife with benzodiazepine abuse, several varieties of which can just be bought and consumed freely there.
- soulofmischief 7y ago
  The popular illegal drugs may be, but it's common to see physical vendors peddling research chemicals which aren't scheduled in Japan.
- newsgremlin 7y ago
  I don't know if there has ever been a major drug crisis, Japan has a long history of using cannabis for hemp based products but the use of it recreationaly wasn't really a concern domestically. Though the figures around drug use and overdose might be under-reported, even Japanese doctors will report drug use to the police thus deterring people from being honest. The pressure to ban cannabis outright came from US influences when Japanese legislation was passed in 1948, meth infact is actually the most used illicit drug today.
- socialdemocrat 7y ago
  Yes culture is a major part of it, which is why you need to compare similar countries. Among western countries those with more liberal drug laws tend to have less problems. Compare e.g. the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal with the US. In my native Norway, punishment for almost anything is quite mild including drug related crime. Yet drug usage is much lower than in the US. We are all more similar to the US than Japan, being all derived from European culture.
joncrane 7y ago
>End the war on drugs and alot of the police work will vanish. Perhaps more importantly, the jails and prisons will empty.
- alfromspace 7y ago
  Do you really think our high prison population is because of drugs? Violent crime in America is really quite high.
  - sampleinajar 7y ago
    On the federal level it's almost half. https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offen...
    - alfromspace 7y ago
      https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html Important to look at the whole picture. Even if we were to decriminalize all activity for all drugs, and assume 100% of drug crime inmates don't deserve to be there and should go free, it would nowhere near "empty" state and local prisons. Also important to note that the vast majority of those incarcerated for drug crime are not in for possession, and even most people in jail for possession pleaded down from more serious charges.
      - sampleinajar 7y ago
        Good data. I agree that parent comment was hyperbolic.

newfriend 7y ago

Drugs are highly illegal in Japan, yet there is no major drug crisis -- which seems to indicate that it's a cultural problem, and not related to enforcement and illegality. It could even be argued that extremely harsh punishments for drug related crimes could act as a deterrent.

Nursie 7y ago
> Drugs are highly illegal in Japan, yet there is no major drug crisis Arguably Japan is rife with benzodiazepine abuse, several varieties of which can just be bought and consumed freely there.
soulofmischief 7y ago
The popular illegal drugs may be, but it's common to see physical vendors peddling research chemicals which aren't scheduled in Japan.
newsgremlin 7y ago
I don't know if there has ever been a major drug crisis, Japan has a long history of using cannabis for hemp based products but the use of it recreationaly wasn't really a concern domestically. Though the figures around drug use and overdose might be under-reported, even Japanese doctors will report drug use to the police thus deterring people from being honest. The pressure to ban cannabis outright came from US influences when Japanese legislation was passed in 1948, meth infact is actually the most used illicit drug today.
socialdemocrat 7y ago
Yes culture is a major part of it, which is why you need to compare similar countries. Among western countries those with more liberal drug laws tend to have less problems. Compare e.g. the Netherlands, Switzerland and Portugal with the US. In my native Norway, punishment for almost anything is quite mild including drug related crime. Yet drug usage is much lower than in the US. We are all more similar to the US than Japan, being all derived from European culture.

joncrane 7y ago

>End the war on drugs and alot of the police work will vanish. Perhaps more importantly, the jails and prisons will empty.

alfromspace 7y ago
Do you really think our high prison population is because of drugs? Violent crime in America is really quite high.
- sampleinajar 7y ago
  On the federal level it's almost half. https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offen...
  - alfromspace 7y ago
    https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html Important to look at the whole picture. Even if we were to decriminalize all activity for all drugs, and assume 100% of drug crime inmates don't deserve to be there and should go free, it would nowhere near "empty" state and local prisons. Also important to note that the vast majority of those incarcerated for drug crime are not in for possession, and even most people in jail for possession pleaded down from more serious charges.
    - sampleinajar 7y ago
      Good data. I agree that parent comment was hyperbolic.