Look at all the Heroin Addicts

Chris0nllyn

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
bilbur said:
I am wondering what people that think a druggie should go to treatment instead of jail think the solution should be. Do they honestly think they can send all the druggies to treatment, life counseling, career counseling on the current tax money they receive (which is currently way to much IMO). Do they think taxes should be raised to help deal with the problem? I am all for getting someone clean and in the workforce but I am not willing to pay more of my hard earned money to do it. Then there is the problem of the over 90% relapse rate. All that money spent on some junkie and they go back to their old habits in less then 6 months. Investing in drug addicts has already proven to be a bad investment. If it were me and I was the drug addict I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that someone else's hard earned money was being spent on me and I would sell everything I had to pay for this myself. I have always worked for what I have and being a druggie wouldn't change that. This new mentality of it takes a village has created a bunch of junkies that think they are entitled to all the treatment in the world even though they have barely paid anything into taxes. I know, how dare I put a price tag on someone's life. Well, I am, because I could have used all the tax money that is wasted on the guy that is in his 5th attempt at getting clean for something productive. I could have continued to graduate school and increased my earning potential, or the money could be given to cancer research, or to low income kids who follow the rules of society so they can get a college degree. Oh well, I guess giving some dude a chance to dry out for a month with free room and board just for him to walk out the door straight to the meth dealer is just as good.
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I think that's a valid concern many people have.

1). The system we're discussing is working, and has worked in other countries.
2). Why would your taxes go up? We spend over $40 BILLION a year on combating the war on drugs. Obviously not all that money is going to go away, but even HALF of that, $20B, is over 6 TIMES what we spend on substance abuse and mental health treatment.
3). There needs to be a distinction between a user and an addict. They are NOT one in the same and usage rates (past month, past year from SAMHSA) suggest that many people can casually use drugs without becoming an addict. Just as many people can go drink beer or wine, or whisky without being an alcohol addict.




For anyone that cares, and has the time, here is a great debate between a group that wants to legalize drugs vs. a group that doesn't. Many good points were brought up by both sides.

 
B

bilbur

New Member
Chris0nllyn said:
I think that's a valid concern many people have.
1). The system we're discussing is working, and has worked in other countries.
2). Why would your taxes go up? We spend over $40 BILLION a year on combating the war on drugs. Obviously not all that money is going to go away, but even HALF of that, $20B, is over 6 TIMES what we spend on substance abuse and mental health treatment.
3). There needs to be a distinction between a user and an addict. They are NOT one in the same and usage rates (past month, past year from SAMHSA) suggest that many people can casually use drugs without becoming an addict. Just as many people can go drink beer or wine, or whisky without being an alcohol addict.
For anyone that cares, and has the time, here is a great debate between a group that wants to legalize drugs vs. a group that doesn't. Many good points were brought up by both sides.
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I am assuming my taxes would have to go up because as of now there are not enough facilities in the country to house the addicts in just one state. This means buildings with living quarters would have to be built, professionals would have to be hired, not to mention all the food and general living supplies. There would also have to be medical staff to treat the numerous medical needs of withdrawals and the poor health habits of addicts. I know these problems are being somewhat covered in jails but when they declare addicts will get the choice of taxpayer funded rehab or jail I believe most would choose rehab. In 2010 there was an estimated 23.5 million American addicts, it is 6 years later and that number has probably doubled. Can you imagine the cost to house and cure all of them, and not only once per addict but 2, 3, 4, even 5 times. We can't do it, not even if we took all of the war on drugs money. Lastly, we still have to maintain some war on drugs. I don't care what people want to do to themselves but drugs like meth, pcp, heroin, and crack put innocent people at risk. I don't know what the solution should be but this new mentality of coddling these addicts scares me. It scares me because I see a lot of money going out for little return just like the current war on drugs. I guess I believe in the tough love method because it worked on me. My dad told me if he caught me using drugs he would break my fingers. My dad was not a violent man but I believed him on this issue. None of my 3 siblings or myself ever touched a drug. The parents at the other end of the street I grew up who were soft on dugs have 4 out of 5 kids addicted to various things. One of the 4 addicts isn't a problem anymore because he OD'd, the other 3 collect state money due to a "disability" and stay home getting drunk or high all day.
 
I

IneedSkrimps

New Member
I don't know what the answer is man. I just know that that societal and fiscal costs of keeping Marijuana illegal is higher than the cost of taxing and regulating it.


For the other drugs, there is a lot of violence attached to them, so I cant say the same thing about them. I think someone using weed instead of alcohol/pills would be a positive thing. The amount of violence, especially domestic, would certainly go down. Weed doesn't turn people into violent angry idiots like alcohol does. And anything to keep people off opiates is a good thing. Using marijuana for pain as a first line drug instead of pills would prevent a lot of future heroin addicts.

Once Maryland's MMJ infrastructure gets rolling, the illegal use of pills and heroin is going to go down.
 
Larry Gude

Larry Gude

Strung Out
PeoplesElbow said:
Really it is hard to say,
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No, it's not.

Before Prohibition I, MOST people drank beer. Hard liquor was not consumed at anywhere near the levels as post prohibition. Why? Simple human nature. If it's gonna cost you more, you try and get the most bang for the buck. Cheap, easy to get beer was what people drank. After prohibition, hard liquor took off and the neighborhood breweries all but vanished.

What we learned in Prohibition I is that people wanna get high. We just do. And, we see it as our god damn ####ing right to do so as we see fit. What could be more American than to assert that level of basic freedom and independence?
 
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