As long as law enforcement has a voice in this “crisis”, we’ll never see any change in the outcomes for most addicts. Beliefs that taking drugs is a moral failure are hard to combat, ever with facts to the contrary. It will take years to change our approach to this as a medical and not a social issue. America is filled with people who want a voice without having a dog in the fight. Funny that folks only want to be their brother’s keeper when it comes to drugs and abortion but won’t lift a finger for those less well off. It is only because addiction is finally hitting the middle to upper classes that this has come to the fore in the news. Now we see that law enforcement cannot stem the tide. But we never learned from the Prohibition experiment. I sure hope we get beyond this as I know guys from good families that are now dead because of fentanyl. I would have rather let them get their “fix” legally than leave them on the streets where it is only a matter of time until the end up in jail or dead.
Cops are more concerned with apprehending the drug dealers and traffickers than the users. But apprehending users enables them to catch dealers when users act as confidential informants. Follow the money… er, weed.
People who are greatly concerned with the (fair and just!) punishment set out by the Courts, not the police, are more likely to be convicted drug users.
If you don’t want to do the time, don’t do the crime.
As long as law enforcement has a voice in this “crisis”, we’ll never see any change in the outcomes for most addicts. Beliefs that taking drugs is a moral failure are hard to combat, ever with facts to the contrary. It will take years to change our approach to this as a medical and not a social issue. America is filled with people who want a voice without having a dog in the fight. Funny that folks only want to be their brother’s keeper when it comes to drugs and abortion but won’t lift a finger for those less well off. It is only because addiction is finally hitting the middle to upper classes that this has come to the fore in the news. Now we see that law enforcement cannot stem the tide. But we never learned from the Prohibition experiment. I sure hope we get beyond this as I know guys from good families that are now dead because of fentanyl. I would have rather let them get their “fix” legally than leave them on the streets where it is only a matter of time until the end up in jail or dead.
Cops are more concerned with apprehending the drug dealers and traffickers than the users. But apprehending users enables them to catch dealers when users act as confidential informants. Follow the money… er, weed.
People who are greatly concerned with the (fair and just!) punishment set out by the Courts, not the police, are more likely to be convicted drug users.
If you don’t want to do the time, don’t do the crime.