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Ricky J -> RE: Vikes Water Cooler Thread (7/13/2012 8:39:00 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: RBIrving
quote:
ORIGINAL: bohumm
I think the answer lies in using the criminal justice system to deal first with the addiction, then with punishment at increasing intervals. Addicts need consequences to recover, and for some, the criminal justice system is the only consequence to get their attention. It may be more expensive in some ways in the short run, and addicts and their families will try to game the system as part of the disease, but jailing addicts is also futile if there's limits to the real, effective help available. No easy answers, obviously, and I would make weed an exception even though it's hardly benign.
I agree with RBI's underlying premise, but I would keep all effective weapons available to fight the beast, because addiction is a motherfucker that will take fire from every angle and still win in many (most?) cases.
I think in a controlled system, rather than criminal system, it should become evident to family and friends that a loved one is slipping into addiction. They'll have to be upfront about getting it and that makes it more visible. The option to intervene without destroying your entire family economically is greatly increased.
I believe in individual freedom. If you want to throw your life away, that's your choice to make. You've made no choice if it was made for you. If you think legalization would turn us all into addicts, you're simply wrong. The vast majority would still have no desire to do that sort of thing to themselves. What's more educating and protecting our children from drugs would be far simpler if we weren't being hypocrites about all of it.
Are you recovering Ralph?
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