On Wed, 18 Sep 2013, Jason White <jason@jasonjgw.net> wrote:
David <bouncingcats@gmail.com> wrote:
Other spectators hold the opposite view: that the illegality causes more problems than it solves.
Indeed they do. The question is whether the reduction in usage resulting from criminalization has sufficient benefits to outweigh the harm caused by treating the distribution and use of certain drugs as a criminal activity.
You are assuming that decriminilising drugs will increase use. While it may increase casual use of soft drugs I really don't think that there will be many people who say "now that heroin is legal I'll go shoot up". There are however many people who are tricked or coerced into using hard drugs by people who want to make money from them.
substantial costs also. I doubt there are many on this list who would be qualified to make policy recommendations related to drug laws. I know I'm not so qualified
http://greens.org.au/policy-platform?field_policy_category_tid=13 http://greens.org.au/policies/drugs-substance-abuse-addiction That's a cop-out. Most people here are voters and are deemed to be qualified to make "policy recommendations" at election time. Above are links to the Greens policies about health-care and the policy about drugs. I believe that the Greens don't go far enough, but their policies are generally good. At the last election I made a "policy recommendation" in favor of the Greens as well as a "policy recommendation" that put the Liberal party about last on the list. On Wed, 18 Sep 2013, Joel W Shea <jwshea@gmail.com> wrote:
...have people saying their life sucks ... it doesn't, they just need to improve their perception of what really matters in the world.
Agreed.
"What if the difference between not being addicted, and being addicted... was the difference between seeing your world as a park... and seeing the world as your cage" – http://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comics_en/rat-park/
Joel, why do you agree when you cite a web comic that disagrees? The end of the web comic shows two people who didn't have a choice in their situation. It seems to me that people who experience the world as a cage either have objective problems (such as being unable to find work) or mental health problems and in either case they can't just change their perception. That comic is excellent, thanks for the reference. -- My Main Blog http://etbe.coker.com.au/ My Documents Blog http://doc.coker.com.au/