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> Good. Putting people with addiction issues in jail was the wrong approach. A big problem is that addictions are expensive and people are willing to commit cr
by umvi 6y ago
> Good. Putting people with addiction issues in jail was the wrong approach.
A big problem is that addictions are expensive and people are willing to commit crimes to feed addictions when they run out of money. Anecdata of 1, but one of my friends in high school got addicted to heroin, and he ended up in jail not because of possession of heroin, but because he started stealing so he could come up with the money to buy more... so in that sense decriminalization won't necessarily help, but I agree that possession of drugs for personal use should not necessarily result in jail time.
- BurningFrog 6y agoAddiction is only expensive because drugs are criminalized. The drugs themselves would be cheap if legalized.
- panzagl 6y agoThey'll be cheap if sale and distribution is legalized- this just amps up the demand side of the curve.
- tclancy 6y agoThat assumes an economic elasticity that I don't think drugs have.
- umvi 6y agolegalization and decriminalization are slightly different. Drugs will only be cheap if: - they are legal to commercially manufacture and distribute (not merely decriminalized) - they aren't taxed excessively Cigarettes, for example, are cheap to manufacture, but still expensive due to high taxes in a lot of places (up to $10+ per pack).
- jjk166 6y agoYeah, but who's giving handys under the bridge for a carton of cigarettes? If you are already committing crimes every day buying and possessing something, then committing crimes to feed the habit isn't a big jump. Conversely, if you haven't done anything illegal yet, most people will pay a hefty premium to avoid having to do anything illegal.
- m0zg 6y agoA lot more people would die of heroin if it was "cheap" and available. It's very easy to OD with it. Not to mention it turns anyone into a junkie in the span of a few weeks, and it's _very_ difficult to get off it. There seems to be this false equivalence in the minds of some folks between hard drugs and e.g. pot. This has no basis in reality. Pot won't fuck you up. Meth most definitely will.
- the_other 6y agoPot will definitely fuck you up if you're on the wrong end of the response curve. That said, criminalising drugs has absolutely made the situations around and with them worse for more people. Those with the greatest gain in the current situation are the warlords in South America, the commercial jails and politicians stoking fear of drug use. A great number of people can and have used a wide range of drugs successfully, peacefully, creatively, introspectively and with joy for 1000s of years. The current predominant legislation doesn't seem to reflect the will of a huge number of people. I don't have stats to say "a majority", but it wouldn't surprise me, especially if you include alcohol. The problems exist. Better methods need to be sought to deal with them than criminalisation.
- m0zg 6y ago> A great number of people can and have used And a great number of people have died because of this use. I mean, are you really going to argue that it is possible to have a "normal" life and take heroin or meth at the same time? I'm not saying taking heroin should be a felony, but selling it definitely should.
- almost_usual 6y agoSo you’re saying alcoholism isn’t expensive? There are tons of homeless alcoholics.
- dvtrn 6y agoWhat factors lead to their addiction? What factors lead to their homelessness? Are these factors mutually exclusive? Post hoc, ergo propter hoc?
- almost_usual 6y agoWell when withdrawal starts setting in you pretty much need to drink or take benzos to sleep, not go insane, or die. If you don’t have a good family or friend support system homelessness is easy to fall into.
- goldenkey 6y agoAlcoholism isn't expensive. There are russian vodkas that are cheap and yet triple filtered. I personally help and know a few homeless by the train so they've shown me these things.
- almost_usual 6y ago> Alcoholism isn't expensive. Tell that to someone who spends most of their money on those cheap russian vodkas.
- goldenkey 6y agoThese guys drink the whole day, the very definition of alcoholics. And they still have plenty of spending money. I don't know what evidence you have, but it sounds like it's pretty much just a "tell that."
- almost_usual 6y agoYou don’t know crippling alcoholics. The withdrawal will kill you if you don’t drink or take benzos.
- jamil7 6y agoIn that specific case decriminalization would indeed help, those caught stealing to feed an addiction that end up with a criminal record then face the difficult reality of trying to find employment with a that record. On top of that doing jail time often means soliciting with other criminals, making contacts and building the wrong kinds of networks. Decriminalization in combination with rehab and community service programs sets those people up for a far better chance of overcoming addiction.
- umvi 6y agoCorrect me if I'm wrong, decriminalization just means you won't be charged with a crime if you are in possession of drugs, but you will still be charged with stealing if you steal. Stealing for the purpose of buying drugs does not get a free pass under drug decriminalization afaik.
- B_ryJenkins 6y agoFrom what i know that is correct, there definitely would have been more backlash if they changes the laws on theft along with this.
- jamil7 6y agoYeah this does make sense and my comment didn't really take that in to account. I guess I imagined more leniency when a drug addict is no longer seen as a criminal.