came here to say “I’m an alcoholic… that’s it, that’s all I wanted to say.” that attitude is also reflected in the super brief line about how “most people” are not suggesting broader legalization policies for drugs like cocaine. sir…a drug is a drug is a drug is a drug, their physiological effects and addiction rates and addiction outcom…
came here to say “I’m an alcoholic… that’s it, that’s all I wanted to say.” that attitude is also reflected in the super brief line about how “most people” are not suggesting broader legalization policies for drugs like cocaine. sir…a drug is a drug is a drug is a drug, their physiological effects and addiction rates and addiction outcomes differ, but just because one addictive drug was the choice of the British empire (or more than one- alcohol, caffeine, nicotine) it doesn’t mean other drugs are inherently different in ANY way whatsoever with regard to smart public policy for addictive drugs that maintains a focus on public health and bodily autonomy. I am sympathetic to the idea that marijuana legalization has not been pursued in a nuanced enough way to protect public health and safety, but you lose me completely when your takeaway is “well you know politically it would be hard to do in a better, positive way so instead of this big dumb policy let’s go back to the other one.” marijuana arrests keep people out of work and struggling, and while state prison time might only be slightly more than 1 in 10 (!!!) for drug offenses I think there’s an argument to be made that peoples lives and finances and health (and their faultless children’s) are far more drastically impacted by criminalization than by addiction, which by the way isn’t helped AT ALL by criminalization!!! I’m for highly regulated drug legalization or decrim and I appreciated the link to alternative models, I’ve also considered that it might be best executed through medical care (to where your doctor could “prescribe” a psychedelic or MDMA or a recreational drug in a moderated amount upon request to maintain a usage record for intervention if necessary). consumption limits are not a bad idea. a complete lack of consistency just because that’s what has been done up to this point IS. because our healthcare system is fucked too, and mental healthcare is treated like a joke, over 50% of US counties don’t even have a licensed psychiatrist - so the idea that continuing to criminalize addiction for some substances while allowing people intoxicated on others to spike crime rates, all because we can’t treat and deal with addiction like the public health crisis it is, is maddening. the idea that people don’t care about quality control also drives me crazy, it goes back to your point, people would still be making bathtub gin if safe alternatives weren’t available, and the economic lens is just… “Colorado has had legal weed for 10 whole years and 1/3 still buy illicit” oh shit you mean in one decade the entire nature of buying & selling drugs hasn’t shifted after a century of reliance on illicit networks?? I’m shocked!!! it’s just so goddamn frustrating, I agree with the “more persuasive arguments” that people should be able to do what they want with their bodies and drugs are fun, but I also know with my brain that drugs are addictive and statistically everything that we criminalize from a puritanical mindset becomes completely corrupted and dangerous for people in the absence of regulation. internet porn is addictive, and it can be degrading, and there is exploitation, but the second it becomes criminalized it will be an all out free for all for the people in that world, for consumers, and effecting everyone outside the prison industrial complex negatively. it’s so easy to sit in one life that’s gone one way and go “no no, that’s better, that’s better for all the rest of us” but the continuing pattern is that it’s not, that plenty of men of status and wealth are completely physically addicted to alcohol or cocaine or another drug of choice, they are not exempt from public health crises, they are not exempt from benefiting from the labor of sex workers, they are not exempt from gay sex or other formerly criminalized behavior that is associated with morality instead of physiology, and it’s unfair and gross to act like some things should remain criminalized just because some people can get around that without huge, life altering consequences. it hurts all of us, it really hurts people in recovery because it’s crowded in secrecy… and it’s tiring. rant over ugh I had so much hope for this analysis.
"you lose me completely when your takeaway is 'well you know politically it would be hard to do in a better, positive way so instead of this big dumb policy let’s go back to the other one.'"
Really. The argument already contained some disputable points, but that was where it completely went off the rails.
came here to say “I’m an alcoholic… that’s it, that’s all I wanted to say.” that attitude is also reflected in the super brief line about how “most people” are not suggesting broader legalization policies for drugs like cocaine. sir…a drug is a drug is a drug is a drug, their physiological effects and addiction rates and addiction outcomes differ, but just because one addictive drug was the choice of the British empire (or more than one- alcohol, caffeine, nicotine) it doesn’t mean other drugs are inherently different in ANY way whatsoever with regard to smart public policy for addictive drugs that maintains a focus on public health and bodily autonomy. I am sympathetic to the idea that marijuana legalization has not been pursued in a nuanced enough way to protect public health and safety, but you lose me completely when your takeaway is “well you know politically it would be hard to do in a better, positive way so instead of this big dumb policy let’s go back to the other one.” marijuana arrests keep people out of work and struggling, and while state prison time might only be slightly more than 1 in 10 (!!!) for drug offenses I think there’s an argument to be made that peoples lives and finances and health (and their faultless children’s) are far more drastically impacted by criminalization than by addiction, which by the way isn’t helped AT ALL by criminalization!!! I’m for highly regulated drug legalization or decrim and I appreciated the link to alternative models, I’ve also considered that it might be best executed through medical care (to where your doctor could “prescribe” a psychedelic or MDMA or a recreational drug in a moderated amount upon request to maintain a usage record for intervention if necessary). consumption limits are not a bad idea. a complete lack of consistency just because that’s what has been done up to this point IS. because our healthcare system is fucked too, and mental healthcare is treated like a joke, over 50% of US counties don’t even have a licensed psychiatrist - so the idea that continuing to criminalize addiction for some substances while allowing people intoxicated on others to spike crime rates, all because we can’t treat and deal with addiction like the public health crisis it is, is maddening. the idea that people don’t care about quality control also drives me crazy, it goes back to your point, people would still be making bathtub gin if safe alternatives weren’t available, and the economic lens is just… “Colorado has had legal weed for 10 whole years and 1/3 still buy illicit” oh shit you mean in one decade the entire nature of buying & selling drugs hasn’t shifted after a century of reliance on illicit networks?? I’m shocked!!! it’s just so goddamn frustrating, I agree with the “more persuasive arguments” that people should be able to do what they want with their bodies and drugs are fun, but I also know with my brain that drugs are addictive and statistically everything that we criminalize from a puritanical mindset becomes completely corrupted and dangerous for people in the absence of regulation. internet porn is addictive, and it can be degrading, and there is exploitation, but the second it becomes criminalized it will be an all out free for all for the people in that world, for consumers, and effecting everyone outside the prison industrial complex negatively. it’s so easy to sit in one life that’s gone one way and go “no no, that’s better, that’s better for all the rest of us” but the continuing pattern is that it’s not, that plenty of men of status and wealth are completely physically addicted to alcohol or cocaine or another drug of choice, they are not exempt from public health crises, they are not exempt from benefiting from the labor of sex workers, they are not exempt from gay sex or other formerly criminalized behavior that is associated with morality instead of physiology, and it’s unfair and gross to act like some things should remain criminalized just because some people can get around that without huge, life altering consequences. it hurts all of us, it really hurts people in recovery because it’s crowded in secrecy… and it’s tiring. rant over ugh I had so much hope for this analysis.
"you lose me completely when your takeaway is 'well you know politically it would be hard to do in a better, positive way so instead of this big dumb policy let’s go back to the other one.'"
Really. The argument already contained some disputable points, but that was where it completely went off the rails.