3 ms·

> Other people won't, and choose to violate drug laws in order to maintain their addiction. Fair enough, but I am simply unwilling to call "just letting them

> Other people won't, and choose to violate drug laws in order to maintain their addiction. Fair enough, but I am simply unwilling to call "just letting them be addicted" a _solution_ of any sort whatsoever. I'm entirely disappointed with this level of social response. You can be saddened by the apparent hopelessness of their situation, but beckoning further destruction and squalor for lack of willingness to truly care about the problem genuinely upsets me. I understand that part of the concern is these people acquiring a "record" that will make their life difficult in the future. A simple mechanism that expunges these charges entirely upon proof of sobriety is all that's needed to solve this.

gwbas1c 3y ago
The squalor that you describe is a function of the legal status; not the other way around. Basically, the problems that arose from alcohol prohibition are the biggest proof that keeping a substance illegal leads to crime and squalor; not the substance itself.
gwbas1c 3y ago
I should also add that "just letting them be addicted" is not a solution. It's a holding pattern; just like how we accept that alcoholics and smokers will chose to quit when they are ready to; or suffer the consequences from their vices. (Assuming you're in the US or similarly governed countries:) The law isn't about forcing people to make the right decisions for themselves, it's about helping society function. IE, "freedom" only works when other people can do dumb things. Clearly, our current situation (opioid consumption is illegal unless actively being used for pain management) isn't working; and doubling down on that situation isn't a solution either. There's a clear difference between "you shouldn't do this" and "doing this is illegal." Having the maturity to understand the difference is why we ended alcohol prohibition, and also what's needed to contain (and hopefully end) the opioid epidemic.

gwbas1c 3y ago

The squalor that you describe is a function of the legal status; not the other way around. Basically, the problems that arose from alcohol prohibition are the biggest proof that keeping a substance illegal leads to crime and squalor; not the substance itself.

gwbas1c 3y ago

I should also add that "just letting them be addicted" is not a solution. It's a holding pattern; just like how we accept that alcoholics and smokers will chose to quit when they are ready to; or suffer the consequences from their vices. (Assuming you're in the US or similarly governed countries:) The law isn't about forcing people to make the right decisions for themselves, it's about helping society function. IE, "freedom" only works when other people can do dumb things. Clearly, our current situation (opioid consumption is illegal unless actively being used for pain management) isn't working; and doubling down on that situation isn't a solution either. There's a clear difference between "you shouldn't do this" and "doing this is illegal." Having the maturity to understand the difference is why we ended alcohol prohibition, and also what's needed to contain (and hopefully end) the opioid epidemic.