4 ms·

Yes, but clearly that was a different situation, where you had large non-addict populations still wanting to consume. With heroin there aren't any occasional us

Yes, but clearly that was a different situation, where you had large non-addict populations still wanting to consume. With heroin there aren't any occasional users, who shoot it twice a month and are totally clean otherwise. Alcohol is bad, sure, but just because it is a socially acceptable drug, doesn't mean you should allow other drugs to become socially acceptable as well. Just because it seems near impossible to get criminalize one bad thing, doesn't mean that all other bad things should be decriminalized. In the end I don't see drug decriminalization as anything more than a political class who creates severe misery, because they are utterly unable to help with the underlying problems which push people to drug use.

vidarh 3y ago
The idea that all heroin users are addicts that can't just stop has been known to be false since at least the 1970s. The heroin addicts you notice are by no means the only heroin users (nor the only addicts). One can argue over ratios, but the addiction rates for heroin are low enough it's sometimes prescribed for post op pain in the UK as an alternative to morphine.
tgv 3y ago
People often fall into the trap: A is bad, but B is bad too. B is allowed, so therefore A must be allowed too. When put in this abstract way, the irrationality of it is clear. But when it's an emotionally vested topic, the lines suddenly blur. The powers-that-be are indeed unable to help with the underlying problem, but there's more to it. Politicians want to be seen as doing good. The myths surrounding good drug use have been pushed for a long time, and the combination with the prospect of the very hard task of eliminating drug trade and the social class aspect, means that for many --in particular progressives-- legalization becomes an attractive option.
AlecSchueler 3y ago
> With heroin there aren't any occasional users, who shoot it twice a month and are totally clean otherwise. There aren't?

vidarh 3y ago

The idea that all heroin users are addicts that can't just stop has been known to be false since at least the 1970s. The heroin addicts you notice are by no means the only heroin users (nor the only addicts). One can argue over ratios, but the addiction rates for heroin are low enough it's sometimes prescribed for post op pain in the UK as an alternative to morphine.

tgv 3y ago

People often fall into the trap: A is bad, but B is bad too. B is allowed, so therefore A must be allowed too. When put in this abstract way, the irrationality of it is clear. But when it's an emotionally vested topic, the lines suddenly blur. The powers-that-be are indeed unable to help with the underlying problem, but there's more to it. Politicians want to be seen as doing good. The myths surrounding good drug use have been pushed for a long time, and the combination with the prospect of the very hard task of eliminating drug trade and the social class aspect, means that for many --in particular progressives-- legalization becomes an attractive option.

AlecSchueler 3y ago

> With heroin there aren't any occasional users, who shoot it twice a month and are totally clean otherwise. There aren't?