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Hey, sorry I downvoted you when the post was just "O". The lack of a socialised healthcare system is actually a boon in this case, since the state is basically

by swombat 15y ago

Hey, sorry I downvoted you when the post was just "O". The lack of a socialised healthcare system is actually a boon in this case, since the state is basically getting rid of a large cost (funding the police work on the war on drugs) without creating another cost (since patients then have to pay for themselves). Isn't it?

throwaway88 15y ago
The US has so many problems - high gun ownership, no socialized health care, still has corporal punishment, etc etc. Not sure legalizing drugs would be a good idea until some of the other problems are addressed first. How can we get Americans to put their guns away?
TheAmazingIdiot 15y ago
I'm not sure. What I do know is that from reading many stories about the "War on Drugs" that many dubious laws and judgments were made to separate people from their property and/or their livelihood. We would also have a sizable chunk of the DEA disbanded (we wouldn't need them). We can add that to reduction of police forces around the US. Where I am unsure is how the dependency of money works within the state system of the drug trade. I have a sinking feeling that there is probably the same amount or money moving around in the "War on Drugs" as there is in the drug trade in the US. My question then is, "What happens if we try to manipulate or disband this system?" ObAside: I've seen this specific iPod bug before. When I click on an edit window, it will flash the keyboard up then down. And any sort of button click on the page submits the form. The only way I've seen to 'fix' it is to close and open the offending tab.
tankenmate 15y ago
You'll probably only get half of the good effects that the Portuguese system will, you're only doing half the job.
pedrocarvalho 15y ago
No, it isn't. In Portugal, the healthcare system is free.
- sneak 15y ago
  You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
  - TheAmazingIdiot 15y ago
    Medical care in the European Union (in general) is free. Money is recouped by higher taxation on all people, as if they bought into a country-wide policy. I think we well understand what is meant by "free". It is usually contrasted by the US system in which emergency care is 'free' if you have no garnishable income or property to take.
  - pedrocarvalho 15y ago
    By free I mean it's not a direct purchase. I'm perfectly aware that the healthcare system in my country is payed by my taxes.
  - heyitsnick 15y ago
    To me (Brit) _free_ in this context is perfectly understood as _free at the point of use_
- icebraining 15y ago
  Unfortunately, that's not true. Not only you have to pay a fee for many basic services (called "Taxas moderadoras"), as they'll double in 2012. As a grandson of a retired couple who had to pay 60 Euro for a public hospital bill just a couple months ago, I can tell you that not only are is it not free, as it can be too expensive already considering the low salaries and pensions.
wildgift 15y ago
There's public rehab in the US. There are also public mental health hospitals, and public hospital emergency rooms. There are also jails and prisons. Drug addicts end up in all these systems all the time, taking up space and resources. Some addicts are somewhat functional, but not enough to hold down a job. They may steal things. So the cost is borne by the community, who have to deal with stolen car stereos and broken windows. What seems to work out cheapest is community based group therapy like what you get with Alcoholics Anonymous. You meet a couple times a week, and talk out how shitty your life was, and how shitty you were to other people. Then promise to not be shitty, and not get down. Maybe you get in touch with the fact that you're kind of "off" and need to see a shrink. Yes, it's a little culty, but so is worshipping the bottle :) AA and NA are dirt cheap.
- biturd 15y ago
  AA and NA do not work. Failure rates are 95%, same as spontaneous remission. But there is an added increase in suicide of upwards of 28%. As cliché as it seems, AA and NA are cults of indoctrination and trample our Bill of Rights as they can and often are court mandated.

by swombat 15y ago

throwaway88 15y ago

The US has so many problems - high gun ownership, no socialized health care, still has corporal punishment, etc etc. Not sure legalizing drugs would be a good idea until some of the other problems are addressed first. How can we get Americans to put their guns away?

TheAmazingIdiot 15y ago

I'm not sure. What I do know is that from reading many stories about the "War on Drugs" that many dubious laws and judgments were made to separate people from their property and/or their livelihood. We would also have a sizable chunk of the DEA disbanded (we wouldn't need them). We can add that to reduction of police forces around the US. Where I am unsure is how the dependency of money works within the state system of the drug trade. I have a sinking feeling that there is probably the same amount or money moving around in the "War on Drugs" as there is in the drug trade in the US. My question then is, "What happens if we try to manipulate or disband this system?" ObAside: I've seen this specific iPod bug before. When I click on an edit window, it will flash the keyboard up then down. And any sort of button click on the page submits the form. The only way I've seen to 'fix' it is to close and open the offending tab.

tankenmate 15y ago

You'll probably only get half of the good effects that the Portuguese system will, you're only doing half the job.

pedrocarvalho 15y ago

No, it isn't. In Portugal, the healthcare system is free.

sneak 15y ago
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
- TheAmazingIdiot 15y ago
  Medical care in the European Union (in general) is free. Money is recouped by higher taxation on all people, as if they bought into a country-wide policy. I think we well understand what is meant by "free". It is usually contrasted by the US system in which emergency care is 'free' if you have no garnishable income or property to take.
- pedrocarvalho 15y ago
  By free I mean it's not a direct purchase. I'm perfectly aware that the healthcare system in my country is payed by my taxes.
- heyitsnick 15y ago
  To me (Brit) _free_ in this context is perfectly understood as _free at the point of use_
icebraining 15y ago
Unfortunately, that's not true. Not only you have to pay a fee for many basic services (called "Taxas moderadoras"), as they'll double in 2012. As a grandson of a retired couple who had to pay 60 Euro for a public hospital bill just a couple months ago, I can tell you that not only are is it not free, as it can be too expensive already considering the low salaries and pensions.

wildgift 15y ago

There's public rehab in the US. There are also public mental health hospitals, and public hospital emergency rooms. There are also jails and prisons. Drug addicts end up in all these systems all the time, taking up space and resources. Some addicts are somewhat functional, but not enough to hold down a job. They may steal things. So the cost is borne by the community, who have to deal with stolen car stereos and broken windows. What seems to work out cheapest is community based group therapy like what you get with Alcoholics Anonymous. You meet a couple times a week, and talk out how shitty your life was, and how shitty you were to other people. Then promise to not be shitty, and not get down. Maybe you get in touch with the fact that you're kind of "off" and need to see a shrink. Yes, it's a little culty, but so is worshipping the bottle :) AA and NA are dirt cheap.

biturd 15y ago
AA and NA do not work. Failure rates are 95%, same as spontaneous remission. But there is an added increase in suicide of upwards of 28%. As cliché as it seems, AA and NA are cults of indoctrination and trample our Bill of Rights as they can and often are court mandated.