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Drug prohibition clearly leads to crime. Drug users would rather use drugs than commit crimes, but paying for a drug habit when drugs are expensive and you hav
by CuriouslyC 4y ago
Drug prohibition clearly leads to crime. Drug users would rather use drugs than commit crimes, but paying for a drug habit when drugs are expensive and you have a hard time holding down a 9-5 job (usually due to mental illness) forces people to do things they don't want to do.
Ending prohibition and diverting some resources from police to mental health and preventative services is just a sensible thing to do.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago> but paying for a drug habit when drugs are expensive and you have a hard time holding down a 9-5 job (usually due to mental illness) I would imagine mental illness would be a bigger barrier to handling a 9-5 job than drug use. IIUC, the majority of people that drink alcohol and smoke weed daily work 9-5 just fine. Is the same true for the majority of people that have mental illness? What are we even considering mental illness? I don't think the visibly homeless crazy people have mild mental illness. I think their mental illness is a bigger problem then drug addiction if they even have that problem.
- bombcar 4y agoNobody wants to talk about it but we really need to decriminalize hiring druggies. Drug addicts can work quite well in the trades (drywall hangers are famous for being meth-heads in some areas) but once "enforcement" starts cracking down on hiring them, they can't find work.
- zdragnar 4y agoEnding prohibition would, at best, depress prices and increase use. You don't need to legalize the use or sale of methamphetamine or fentanyl or crack to offer more mental health and preventative services.
- 8note 4y agoIt would also decouple two different difficult problems {housing, drug abuse} from needing to be solved by the same solution.
- danenania 4y agoWhile I agree prohibition certainly does more harm than good, spending time in parts of SF where crack/meth/heroin/fentanyl are effectively legal has convinced me a firm hand is also needed to contain the externalities. It destroys a place and makes it unlivable. You can't just allow it wherever.
- swearwolf 4y agoCounterpoint: Oregon has done exactly that via Measure 101. It's been a complete mess. Every societal ill that comes along with drug use has gotten substantially worse. In theory, ending prohibition and diverting resources is a good idea, but it sure hasn't worked out that way in practice and I wouldn't encourage anyone in the U.S. to vote for it or trust that it will be well implemented here.