andyt wrote:
There doesn't seem to be "the answer." We've tried getting tough. We could get tougher, but that would start trampling on civil liberties. The only crime these guys commit is being drunk in a public place and fighting. The only crime a heroin addict commits is using an illegal drug, other wise his crime would be less than these drunks. (Not counting crime to get the money for the drugs). Are we really going to lock all these people up - and do it in a way that's more than the hellhole that prison is now? That's certainly not "doing anything for these unfortunates." It would just be removing them from our sight and would cost a fortune.
We should spend way more money to make treatment available - many people who are ready to quit get discouraged because there is no detox and rehab for them. And, rehab only works for somebody that actually wants to quit, and even then they may have to cycle thru it a few times. What do you want to do for all the ones that don't want to quit? At least harm reduction makes life a little better for them and actually saves us money to boot.
Harm reduction isn't about getting people off drugs. But nobody has got the answer to get people off drugs. People have been trying to get shit faced since they were people, basically. Marijuana use goes back at least 30,000 years, there's a theory agriculture was inveted to have a steady supply of grain for booze.
And, we don't exactly have the most supportive society for people with problems, but a society that is all about the quick fix, including all the drugs the legit industry pushes.
I'm for harm reduction and legalization because it seems to be the least worst alternative that we've come up with so far, not because it's some wonderful cure for society's ills. All your bitching about it will do is give ammunition to the people who basically want to continue on the present course - which is accompolishing nothing. If these guys are living slightly healthier lives, have less involvement with ER and police and actually drink less, and less toxic stuff than they do now, that's better than we had before. Before you criticize it I think it's incumbent on you to come up with a better suggestion. Just saying this is no good, and there's got to be something better, but not offering any ideas doesn't move the whole thing forward at all.
Well since you asked for it, here's my suggestion. Reopen all the mental health instititues that the Liberals out here closed, reopen all the group homes they closed or put in prison people who refuse treatment and continue to commit crimes. So in essence it becomes mandatory drug and alcohol rehabilitation just like Singapore for anyone caught committing a crime and tough luck to their charter rights. When you commit a crime to feed your habit or endanger others, you have just given up your charter rights by infringing on someone elses.
Our society has a tendancy to let anyone with a drug or alcohol addiction get away with crimes because "they're addicted", drug addicts more so than alcoholics, yet, we hold non addicted criminals to a much higher standard and accountable for their actions. We actually incarcerate them for lengthy periods of time for the same crimes we let addicts continue committing, which, when you think about it doesn't make sense.
So, until someone can explain to me why a bad choice in what you ingest, smoke or shoot should make you less culpable for crimes you commit than someone who makes a bad decision when they're straight, I'll stick with treating them with mandatory rehab?
As it stands now we're making these peoples lives a little less painful but we sure as hell aren't treating them nor giving them any hope for the future. What we're doing is ensuring there's gonna be a ready supply of disenfranchised and downtrodden people to practice our social engineering on, as long as it doesn't cost to much, which is pretty sad when you think about it.
