Drug Use around the world.

[themcfarland]

So, I am Keenly aware that drugs are funded by crime, and that crime has personally affected me by theft in the past.

I am curious to opinions held by members here..

The US treats drug use as a crime and we do not seem to get anywhere and there is an endless cycle of crime, guys busted, crime to pay for the fines, guys busted.. yada..

I know of a few programs where guys are doctors similar to doctors without borders and they distribute narcan to addicts along with clean needles but not much on the way of prevention, just saving the ones that OD..
Now I am torn, I kind of see the ones that DIE as one less person that will steal or cause harm. But the Christian side of me, says someone lost.

The Swiss, are very conservative for their area and they have a few clinics that distribute Heroin to addicts who meet certain criteria, Now I really do not agree with that, My taxes paying for something that someone else gets to enjoy and they get to lie back while my ass works.. But it seems to keep crime lower according to stats but I am not sure how those stats are gathered and if they were geared towards keeping the program.

I personally know addicts, was abandoned as a kid due to a gambling problem so addiction is always on my radar.. I Personally do not have any but also know its a disease and certain diseases are best controlled by letting them kill their hosts like Ebola.

I feel Charity should be done through church and Not taxes, but I am asking for serious, well thought out opinions on this as I get bitterly angry towards repeat relapse excuses and waver between letting them die off and putting them on an island without any drugs and telling them to fend for themselves and get clean or DIE..


I would like some honest opinions or thoughts, from members here, PM or otherwise.. I need some other ways of thinking, Mine do not seem to get resolved lol

I am aware of the countries that have banned all types of drugs and they still have addicts, If you think that works , your wrong.. Look of Krokodil or desomorphine.

The US treats it like a crime and have turned us into a Police state eroding our 4th amendment.. like many others
The other countries that compare to the US in technology and government seem to have similar problems but have harsher punishment.. Hell even Iraq hangs its criminals for thefts related to addiction.. in public

 

[Gus McCrae]

One way to look at it:

You pay taxes to help reduce/control crime..... clinics would likely reduce/control crime. Implemented properly, I think it's a good idea. I'm just not sure our government is capable of implementing it properly.

 

[Emperor]

Drugs are illegal hence black market supply/demand street drug rules; street drugs ruled by criminals and gangs; criminals and gangs kill each other with guns to enforce street rules; guns get blamed for street gang violence; law abiding gun owners demonized for supporting gun Rights; hypocrites and freedom haters turn blind eye to real issue; go after Constitution!

Libertarians are right on this one. Make them legal! Let addicts find out the hard way, and since no illegal wealth involved, let gangs find other business opportunities!

 

[Cochise]

IMO, the "war on drugs" needs to be stopped. Like any form of prohibition, it creates criminals out of otherwise law abiding citizens and the only people who benefit from it are the cartels and black market networkers.

Let drug users pay high taxes like alcohol and tobacco users, instead of throwing away billions of tax dollars on a fight that cannot ever be won and we can start to get this country back on track. Put warning labels on it and treat addiction like the illness it is and lives will be saved. It is THE ONLY way to actually accomplish anything positive. It is also the only way to reduce the number of children who are using drugs.

 

[Cochise]

Emporor hit the nail square on the head.
Also something for you to think about:
" In 2001, Portugal became the first European country to abolish all criminal penalties for personal drug possession. In addition, drug users were to be targeted with therapy rather than prison sentences. Research commissioned by the Cato Institute and led by Glenn Greenwald found that in the five years after the start of decriminalisation, illegal drug use by teenagers had declined, the rate of HIV infections among drug users had dropped, deaths related to heroin and similar drugs had been cut by more than half, and the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction had doubled."
Source http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_liberalization

 

[joey9139122]

IMO Doing drugs or being an addict is not a criminal activity and you shouldn't be jailed as long as you are only hurting yourself.

The only people in "the dope game" who get hurt are the low life peddlers. The big boys don't get caught and the banks that launder only get fined.

I say legalize it all, regulate and tax it, let junkies get low grade crap served to them and treatment by non profits like churches who want to help clean up their community.

And when the thugs realize that they have no way of getting hood rich anymore they will have to find a legal way to make money. Not saying they will accomplish a lawful life, but they won't be shooting everyone for territory.

 

[themcfarland]

IMO Doing drugs or being an addict is not a criminal activity and you shouldn't be jailed as long as you are only hurting yourself.

The only people in "the dope game" who get hurt are the low life peddlers. The big boys don't get caught and the banks that launder only get fined.

I say legalize it all, regulate and tax it, let junkies get low grade crap served to them and treatment by non profits like churches who want to help clean up their community.

And when the thugs realize that they have no way of getting hood rich anymore they will have to find a legal way to make money. Not saying they will accomplish a lawful life, but they won't be shooting everyone for territory.

The reality is that drugs need to be purchased and rarely are hard core addicts employed anymore, and they steal to fund their habbit.. This is why there is the majority of thefts.. So they are hurting more than themselves..

 

[Poorboy504]

These days prescription drug use is becoming a prominent problem. The once heroin users morphed into prescription opioid users. Prescription pain medications are purer and safer for the end users. But if they can't get it, it's back to heroin (which is an opioid narcotic also). Opioids are very very addictive, and people develop a tolerance to it; so they continually need larger doses. The withdrawal symptoms won't kill you (like alcohol or benzodiazepines can), but you will wish you were dead. They are THAT bad. It may be the reason the addicts are so desperate for a fix that they will rob and kill you to get it. I met a guy on the psych floor who was pretty friendly. He was polite and cooperative. However, even he had the insight that he had an addiction problem. He said that if he needed his heroin fix, he would kill you to get money no questions asked.
I don't know if there is a solution to the drug problem. The best we can do is get them off the streets, detox them, and hope they make the right choice later.
As for the free needles to iv drug users, I think it's a good idea. They will do it anyway, so at least they can protect themselves from HIV, hepatitis, etc. From an economic and public health point of view, preventing someone from getting AIDS or liver failure is a lot cheaper than treating them with daily meds for AIDS or performing a liver transplant.

 

[CEHollier]

As poorboy mentioned. Prescription drug use is rampant. Part of my business practice is marketing to physicians for our physical therapy clinic. I call on pain management physicians frequently. Most run a legitimate business. However, when I walk into certain practices their lobbies are filled with white, skinny, emaciated, meth addicted looking trailer trash. Most of which are on SSI, food stamps, and other government subsidies. You can spot these folks a mile away. I had one patient last year we received orders for PT from four different doctors. She would schedule an appointment then was a no show. All she wanted was pain medicine. I told my office manager if we get another referral on her immediately contact the physician and let them know what's going on. We received another referral for a pain patient on SSI birth year 1970. When contacted she stated she didn't need therapy at this time. But she needs pain medicine. Right? My office manager notified the physician she refused. To be honest I'm not sure what the answer is. Giving non working people money to get high/live from working people isn't the answer. Poverty should not be comfortable. Hunger is a powerful motivator to work. The real question is what happens to these people in countries that don't have welfare systems.