I'm not talking about marijuana, I am talking about the hard-core drugs like Meth, Crack, etc. I am against drug usage but I have a question. What do you all think that proper punishment should be for abusers and dealers? (EDIT: I am meaning the ones that commit crimes while on the drugs or the ones that commit crimes to get the drugs. And should the dealers be just as accountable because they provided them with the drug?)
I recently watched a documentary about meth, and the officials in Thailand have simply killed off many of the users.
I personally know quite a few meth addicts here in the U.S. that, after serving their sentence for being "busted", have returned to drug abuse. Obviously, rehab and prison isn't working.
According to the website ncvc.org, 81% of crimes are drug-related. What, in your opinion, is the best solution for punishment and what can our authority figures do to get things under control?
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Thank you for your post! I am so glad you shared your views. I have seen many wonderful people turn to shit because of meth. I am so happy that you have recovered. I have also encountered those that have been sober but have turned back to it. I had a friend from school lose a kidney and almost die from other complications (due to meth) but she went back to it just a few short weeks after her release from the hospital.
I think that the dealers should be charged for everything that the user is charged with. They are both responsible for the actions of the individual. Maybe I am wrong, but I see that they are both the cause of the crimes. I also agree that pot should be legal. I don't use it, but I'd prefer to deal with a pot head than someone that is on a violent rage from liquor. I love to drink, but some people just shouldn't come in contact with it. But all smokers I know are easy-going.
I have to agree that prison doesn't work.
Permalink Reply by JD Stockman on March 1, 2011 at 5:13am the dealer is as responsible for the user as the seller of a gun is of the killer... granted it is illegal... but I think if you attack the dealer and not the user, the price of drugs will go up and so will the crime needed to aquire the money for them. So... you want to stop drugs... kill the demand for them and the business will no longer be profitable
Permalink Reply by JD Stockman on March 1, 2011 at 10:58am
Permalink Reply by Arcus on March 1, 2011 at 11:50am Very interesting read, thank you for sharing.
I must say I disagree with your conclusion though. I think a better solution would be to sell hard drugs either directly through (preferably) a government operated monopoly or licensed shops. This would allow for the possibility of levying taxes on the chemicals, control the quality, remove much of issues related to dealer violence, harm the black economy, and remove some of the social stigma. The income from the sale should then be earmarked to fund a rehabilitation system for addicts.
The result might be a few more drug addicts (though this can be argued against), but at the same time it would free up massive amounts of funds which could be reallocated from law enforcement to healthcare.
I am generally against criminalizing products, but I am a supporter of strong governmental regulation of harmful substances. I also don't believe locking people up is the most productive way of solving problems which clearly have much deeper roots.
I like this article about the subject. (pardon the Google translate)
Permalink Reply by Todd T. on March 16, 2011 at 11:06am Hey JD. Exterminating a segment of the population is the right approach. Unfortunately for us, it isn't legal here in the USA. That doesn't mean we can't be proactive. Being that you are an addict, you know that you are a ticking time-bomb that could relapse at any moment. We need to do something about it on account of the do-gooders in Washington not following up on my proposal I emailed to whitehouse.gov. Operation Addictalypse would have worked. But anyway. We need to take the law into our own hands. You need to dispense some vigilante justice on yourself. Do you own a gun? Probably not, since you're an ex-con. Ask a friend or neighbor if you can borrow a handgun. Load the gun with ammunition. Chamber a round. Point the weapon at your skull. Pull the trigger. Congratulations! Your tremendous sacrifice will be remembered for days, if not weeks.
**i salute you emoticon**
Let me guess: frustrated writer reduced to online snarking?
Anyway, you may not have noticed that the government has already invested billions in carrying out your Addictalypse. No need to take the matter into one's own hands when Officer Friendly is happy to do it on behalf of Peace, Justice, and the American Way with our tax dollars.
Permalink Reply by Todd T. on March 16, 2011 at 1:14pm I'm actually a wheel man, not a writer. They call me wheels, aka notorious get away. And that's not one or the other. It's wheels, aka notorious get away. In certain time-restrained situations you could call me wheels for short. Like if we were about to break lose from the curb, you could just say "hit it wheels!" instead of "hit it wheels, aka notorious get away!"
The reason for the snark is because of the hypocrisy of his post, and the "not disagreeing" with the murder of Thai people for what substances they choose to put into their body. How does one respond? Aiming for a serious discussion is futile. It's like <insert analogy to Nazism>
Permalink Reply by Todd T. on March 16, 2011 at 7:49pm
Permalink Reply by Shane Baxter on March 1, 2011 at 2:23am Drugs cant be controlled by prohibition and attempts to do so are futile and destructive. Humans crave altered states and will do whatever it takes to achieve them, be it food, sex, extreme, sports, drugs, whatever. Its the nature of the beast.
All you can do is make it a heath and education issue not a criminal issue.
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