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>Now clearly mentally ill people - who needed help - were turned away unless they were clearly "a danger to themselves and others". People talk as if this stan
by htss2013 3y ago
>Now clearly mentally ill people - who needed help - were turned away unless they were clearly "a danger to themselves and others".
People talk as if this standard is the source of problems, but it's a fine standard. We just don't enforce it.
Eg, if a homeless drug addict overdoses and is brought back by the fire dept with narcan, this is clearly someone who is a danger to themselves. They should be treated no differently than someone rescued from a suicide attempt.
Fentanyl itself changes the imminent danger of being an opiate addict because there's no remotely safe way to use it. Any chronic user of Fentanyl is a danger to themselves.
Someone who is unable to maintain basic level of health on the street is the same. Do you have infected wounds festering? Teeth rotting out of your mouth? The government would take away a pet dog from someone in that state, but for a human doing it to themselves, no problem.
- TurkishPoptart 3y agoA devil's advocate view is, if someone has no regard for their own wellbeing, why should taxpayers be forced to foot the bill for their care? There are resources for those who want rehab, food, and a safe place to sleep in my city, but if those people want to keep using dangerous drugs, it complicates everything else.
- htss2013 3y ago>Someone has no regard for their own wellbeing, why should taxpayers be forced to foot the bill for their care? Ethically, due to having their minds hijacked by addiction and/or mental illness, it is as if they're reduced to being children again. We don't put children on the street and respect their decisions to ruin their lives, because we understand they don't have the mental capacity to decide such things. Practically, it's probably net cheaper for tax payers to force them to get clean or go to a mental hospital. But you have to account for all externalities and opportunity costs, which no one does.