3 ms·

The paper I linked to had several case studies, I think the Zurich and Portugal model both have a lot to teach the USA. But step one is to stop pretending that

The paper I linked to had several case studies, I think the Zurich and Portugal model both have a lot to teach the USA. But step one is to stop pretending that open drugs scenes are caused by homelessness. They're caused by open-air markets for drugs, and the US in fact does a fairly good job of caring for the unhoused except for the open drug scene problem. End those, the rest of the unhoused have enough available solutions, and it's easier to do more when more is needed. There's no ending them without a health care policy for addiction, either. Treating drug addiction as a criminal matter just leads back to open drug scenes. Keeping them gone requires a different approach.

maxwell 4y ago
What, if any, approaches or policies are you actually advocating for when you talk about "ending" open drug scenes? DEA raids and incarceration of the homeless? Universal healthcare and ending scheduling of drugs? State/federal bans on overly-restrictive local zoning and international building codes, which prevent the construction of affordable new housing?
- samatman 4y ago
  Is it really too much to expect you to read the paper, which I've referenced, and pointed to two of the case studies as particularly valuable? I'm not an expert, it doesn't make sense for me to do more than point to the expert opinions which I consider valuable here. It's none of the things in your paragraph. Open drug scenes are not caused by homelessness so housing the unhoused does not in itself solve the problem. It takes more than that. One of the reasons I care about this is the evidence that housing-first policies fail if and when there are open drug scenes.
- uoaei 4y ago
  I've encountered OP before as a commenter. They use verbose diatribes to try to shuffle their own (quite radical) personal moral convictions past the HN crowd. For what reason, I do not know, but it is to me indistinguishable from a lack of real understanding. It reminds me of economists who grow up only reading Hayek, never having seen the inside of day-to-day business operations.
  - maxwell 4y ago
    Unclear if "OP" is them or me ( ͝סּ ͜ʖ͡סּ)

maxwell 4y ago

What, if any, approaches or policies are you actually advocating for when you talk about "ending" open drug scenes? DEA raids and incarceration of the homeless? Universal healthcare and ending scheduling of drugs? State/federal bans on overly-restrictive local zoning and international building codes, which prevent the construction of affordable new housing?

samatman 4y ago
Is it really too much to expect you to read the paper, which I've referenced, and pointed to two of the case studies as particularly valuable? I'm not an expert, it doesn't make sense for me to do more than point to the expert opinions which I consider valuable here. It's none of the things in your paragraph. Open drug scenes are not caused by homelessness so housing the unhoused does not in itself solve the problem. It takes more than that. One of the reasons I care about this is the evidence that housing-first policies fail if and when there are open drug scenes.
uoaei 4y ago
I've encountered OP before as a commenter. They use verbose diatribes to try to shuffle their own (quite radical) personal moral convictions past the HN crowd. For what reason, I do not know, but it is to me indistinguishable from a lack of real understanding. It reminds me of economists who grow up only reading Hayek, never having seen the inside of day-to-day business operations.
- maxwell 4y ago
  Unclear if "OP" is them or me ( ͝סּ ͜ʖ͡סּ)