4 ms·

I have never heard of someone on the streets directly for marijuana usage. Opioids are actually cheap to produce, expensive to buy. The poverty is quite relate

I have never heard of someone on the streets directly for marijuana usage. Opioids are actually cheap to produce, expensive to buy. The poverty is quite related to the costs, and I think that's where I challenge your take. That said, the most compelling take i have heard in the first half of 'In the realm of hungry ghosts' by Gabor Mate`. He points out that we need to consider the fact that some people may be much more predisposed to opioid addiction, by either default wiring or by life experiences. In this case, is the freedom of the majority of folks to take what they want worth the risk to those who would suffer from it? I don't believe he supports the criminalization of the drug use, but he makes a good point that we need to think about this reality of different-risks. The reason why I come back to legalization is that I cannot tolerate the fact we have such massive funding sources for the cartels (and police) in the illegal trade. It is deeply compelling to me that we would be better off without funding that society destroying business.

sepositus 2y ago
> I have never heard of someone on the streets directly for marijuana usage Yeah, I'm certainly not talking about this class of drugs. The context of the discussion is opioids, and I'm mainly referring to the more destructive ones. I had no issue when marijuana was legalized in my state. > The poverty is quite related to the costs, and I think that's where I challenge your take. I'm not sure that represents the whole picture. Beyond relationships, the main thing most people I've met in this situation lost was their job. Followed by whatever housing situation they had. Sure, cost doesn't make it any easier on them, but from my perspective, it was the drug abuse and the resulting cycles of high/low that led to their financial demise. > The reason why I come back to legalization is that I cannot tolerate the fact we have such massive funding sources for the cartels (and police) in the illegal trade Yeah, I agree, and I have the same feelings. I just can't, in good faith, support legalization with all I've seen. It's a complicated problem.

sepositus 2y ago

> I have never heard of someone on the streets directly for marijuana usage Yeah, I'm certainly not talking about this class of drugs. The context of the discussion is opioids, and I'm mainly referring to the more destructive ones. I had no issue when marijuana was legalized in my state. > The poverty is quite related to the costs, and I think that's where I challenge your take. I'm not sure that represents the whole picture. Beyond relationships, the main thing most people I've met in this situation lost was their job. Followed by whatever housing situation they had. Sure, cost doesn't make it any easier on them, but from my perspective, it was the drug abuse and the resulting cycles of high/low that led to their financial demise. > The reason why I come back to legalization is that I cannot tolerate the fact we have such massive funding sources for the cartels (and police) in the illegal trade Yeah, I agree, and I have the same feelings. I just can't, in good faith, support legalization with all I've seen. It's a complicated problem.