When you legalize or decriminalize something you normalize it. People will rationalize this move as "oh, it can't be that bad"- which is obviously absolutely not the case. Some of these substances are extremely addictive and extremely harmful.
So if you're not going to spend the money as a society to have the back end support for extremely addictive substances and getting people back on their feet you should not go legalize said substance as, yes, obviously, usage will go up.
Which leads me back to Portugal. They didn't just go decriminalize and legalize. They also added an enforcement angle in addition to adding significant public resources into counseling and addiction treatment and recovery.
All addictive substances are not created equal. Abusing alcohol is not like abusing crystal meth. Again I'm all for considering new strategies but they need to be fully baked and not half measure BS. And I have almost zero confidence in Canadians to fully bake the solution and ensure the answer is holistic and not just legalize / decriminalize and walk away which will almost undoubtedly make the situation far worse.
The Following 6 Users Say Thank You to Mr.Coffee For This Useful Post:
Perhaps at some point in the future when technology/medicine have advanced, something like this being used to "cure" people of addiction. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_erasure
I was wondering the other day whether the future cure for addiction might just come in the form of another drug, or whether a synthetic replacement for something like cocaine could be invented that was either a significantly lower threat to health or could be manufactured in a way that avoided triggering the parts of the brain that cause addiction.
Yep, and a cup of coca tea in the morning and at lunch too - when I hiked it a few years ago.
Doing all that coke I'm amazed anyone ever actually made to the top.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PepsiFree
I was wondering the other day whether the future cure for addiction might just come in the form of another drug, or whether a synthetic replacement for something like cocaine could be invented that was either a significantly lower threat to health or could be manufactured in a way that avoided triggering the parts of the brain that cause addiction.
Pfft...we discussed Sythablow like 3 pages back.
The fact that the TNG crew wasnt doing rails off the Ten-Forward bar is probably our most solid indication that it cant be done.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
Doing all that coke I'm amazed anyone ever actually made to the top.
Pfft...we discussed Sythablow like 3 pages back.
The fact that the TNG crew wasnt doing rails off the Ten-Forward bar is probably our most solid indication that it cant be done.
The fact anyone ever left the holodeck is a miracle. Barclay developed a super brain enhancer? GTFO with that nerdy BS. I'd be having coke fuelled orgies 24/7. Kind of like when Barclay had his own weird Robin Hood era kink program...except mine would be good.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Cecil Terwilliger For This Useful Post:
The fact anyone ever left the holodeck is a miracle. Barclay developed a super brain enhancer? GTFO with that nerdy BS. I'd be having coke fuelled orgies 24/7. Kind of like when Barclay had his own weird Robin Hood era kink program...except mine would be good.
Oh trust me...the Star Trek Discussion thread has been all over it.
"The Holodeck can be used for sex and drugs?"
Trust me...the guy who invented the Holodeck didnt have 'science-based purposes' in mind when he did it.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
most of these addicts have developed mental illnesses from years of hard drugs, we all made bad choices but some people weren't lucky enough to get past the decision to try drugs, i had a friend who was a very nice person and now he is just gone mentally from 25yrs of using, and it's sad, if he just had help from a friend at the right time things might have turned out better.
That "crackhead" could be a real nice person behind the addiction and if someone would see past that and help he might get his life back one day.
__________________
The Following User Says Thank You to Flames_Gimp For This Useful Post:
“The ventilation is also just recirculated and that is a health hazard because people are smoking drugs inside and all that chemical smoke is going through the ventilation system and spreading throughout the building.”
He adds however that not a single day has gone by over the past six months where a violent act at the Drop-In Centre hasn’t occurred before his eyes.
“I mean they don’t properly search people and people get guns, knives, batons, whatever you can get, anything goes in there. There’s absolutely no control.”
“You can’t even complain to the management because they don’t listen, they don’t care. They just say ‘we gave up, we don’t care anymore.’ We are human beings, we have rights, we have a right to a safe environment and that is not a safe environment.”
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to jayswin For This Useful Post:
Man, that is awful. What a terrible choice it must be to face between staying in a place like that or staying on the streets in the winter. My heart really goes out to the people facing that who just want somewhere safe and warm to rest.
__________________
"If stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?"
The Following User Says Thank You to JohnnyB For This Useful Post:
Same story for years and years. Low paid workers stretched too thin, lack of resources, dangerous setting, management/executives who are happy to collect their pay checks and leave the min wage workers to deal with the problems.
This is important for a lot of people who fall into the "we need to deal with the homeless problem"
A lot of times we keep calling these society issue a homeless problem and a housing problem when in reality we have a mental health/drug addiction problem.
When we see videos that some users posted above, and when I see people in person, as I deal with this drug addiction population everyday, there is no solution without forced rehab.
I know a lot of people always talk about the other methods and they can assist in a lot of ways, but the bottom line is that less people need to use and that's the end of it. This is a growing problem and it needs to be corrected.
I was wondering the other day whether the future cure for addiction might just come in the form of another drug, or whether a synthetic replacement for something like cocaine could be invented that was either a significantly lower threat to health or could be manufactured in a way that avoided triggering the parts of the brain that cause addiction.
The movie "Dosed" is about a heroin addict who was cured by Ibogaine (or more likely, I'm told, magic mushrooms). There's a lot of legitimate research going on about potential cures for mental health issues using psychedelic substances.
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to D as in David For This Useful Post:
The movie "Dosed" is about a heroin addict who was cured by Ibogaine (or more likely, I'm told, magic mushrooms). There's a lot of legitimate research going on about potential cures for mental health issues using psychedelic substances.
Makes sense.
Many psychedelic drugs were developed for therapeutic purposes by psychiatrists.
The Following User Says Thank You to blankall For This Useful Post:
Ward 14 Coun. Peter Demong said he’s frustrated by a lack of provincial actions to address root cause issues spilling over into transit safety, after another incident Wednesday morning.
The question came after two people were taken to hospital in non-life-threatening condition early Wednesday after an apparent double stabbing.
Calgary police confirmed an apparent altercation happened around 6:20 a.m. Wednesday at the Fourth Street SW LRT station.
They said when officers arrived, three people appeared to have been in a fight. A man and woman appeared to have stab wounds, Calgary police said.
Demong said he recognized that these safety issues were happening on Calgary Transit property. What’s driving them, however, are homelessness, mental health and addiction, he said.
Undercover drug operation on CTrain lines results in charges against 40 people
Calgary police laid 268 criminal charges and seized a number of weapons during a three-week undercover drug trafficking operation at CTrain stations.
During the operation, officers seized fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, morphine and Xanax. Police also seized 21 knives, one handgun, two machetes, two hatchets, two airsoft pistols, one BB gun and one can of bear spray.
Undercover drug operation on CTrain lines results in charges against 40 people
Calgary police laid 268 criminal charges and seized a number of weapons during a three-week undercover drug trafficking operation at CTrain stations.
During the operation, officers seized fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, morphine and Xanax. Police also seized 21 knives, one handgun, two machetes, two hatchets, two airsoft pistols, one BB gun and one can of bear spray.
That took them 3 weeks?
Besides...setting off a can of Bear Spray in a C-Train would probably be doing the riders a favour.
__________________ The Beatings Shall Continue Until Morale Improves!
This Post Has Been Distilled for the Eradication of Seemingly Incurable Sadness.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a Fire Exit. - Mitch Hedberg
