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Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

theguardian.com

121–130 of 252 posts

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#121
post #112

Same-sex marriage never achieved enough support to be legalized [0][1]. It was voted against throughout the country including liberal states such as California. Same-sex marriage was legislated by a small number of judges. I'm not making an argument for or against so please don't debate me on the merits of this issue. I am merely pointing out that the people did not decide this issue. A very small number of elites di…

You are wading into the complex web of how democracy works in the US. Denigrating the "elite" Supreme Court and ignoring all the other elites and distortions involved in any state legislation seems disingenuous.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_opinion_of_same-sex_m...

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#122
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You probably don't mean it, but the phrasing you're using is very tone deaf to LGBTQ people who have historically been considered "diseased" and something to be "cured." To your point though, anecdotally, most people I know know someone personally who is suffering or has suffered from addiction. I would imagine much of the USA is that way. So in terms of visibility, I would venture to say that most of the population…

Could you please explain how I’m being tone deaf? As someone with a Queer child, I’m flummoxed.

>we need to raise the visibility and openness of dealing with drug addiction, to come out of the closet so to speak

Keep in mind you are talking about a social ailment to be corrected. It's tone deaf to LGBTQ community who has been considered a social ailment for a long time. If you avoid drawing analogies between mental/psychological illnesses and LGBTQ people, you will avoid coming off that way.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#123
post #112

Same-sex marriage never achieved enough support to be legalized [0][1]. It was voted against throughout the country including liberal states such as California. Same-sex marriage was legislated by a small number of judges. I'm not making an argument for or against so please don't debate me on the merits of this issue. I am merely pointing out that the people did not decide this issue. A very small number of elites di…

Can you explain to me the intent of your argument? Never mind that there were many states that voted in favor of same-sex marriage, it seems rather disingenuous to claim that it was simply a 'small number of elites' as well as claiming your argument is somehow not debatable.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#124
post #89
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

salt, sugar, and flour aren't natural?

They aren't typically found in nature in the form in which we consume them. They require human processing (even if it's much less processing than what goes into making a frozen pizza).

i'm curious specifically about what you think we do to salt that changes it so dramatically

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#125
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you please explain how I’m being tone deaf? As someone with a Queer child, I’m flummoxed.

>we need to raise the visibility and openness of dealing with drug addiction, to come out of the closet so to speak Keep in mind you are talking about a social ailment to be corrected. It's tone deaf to LGBTQ community who has been considered a social ailment for a long time. If you avoid drawing analogies between mental/psychological illnesses and LGBTQ people, you will avoid coming off that way.

Your len is off.

Homosexuality was illegal and slowly we've reached the point of gay marriage. A lot of political reforms are still required.

Drug law reforms still need to progress.

Gay rights only progressed because of a personal connection. Using the same method for drug reform is not tone deaf.

It's a little offensive drug reform is a mental/psychological issue. For many it may be a choice over legal choices that cause more issues.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#126
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this true? Almost no one in my social circles knows a victim of gun violence, and I live in one of the most violent cities in the country. Even if you count suicides (and you really shouldn’t), I would be surprised if this were true. I suspect most people in the country don’t know a victim or offender of gun violence, while they do know several law-abiding gun owners leading them to believe that inner city issues—…

You don’t know anyone who’s ever been robbed at gunpoint or something like that? I think it might depend on who you define as a victim, but if you include suicides and robberies that didn’t result in a homicide this claim doesn’t seem unreasonable to me. I guess one thing is that it may be generational, as violent crime was far higher 20-50 years ago. Since the mid 1990s violent crime including gun crime has dropped…

Good point. I wasn’t thinking of threats of violence or suicides. If you define the term more broadly to make the “most people know a victim...” statement true (even with the broader definition, I’m not sure it would be true), then we shouldn’t be surprised that support for 2A isn’t weaker.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#127
post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this true? Almost no one in my social circles knows a victim of gun violence, and I live in one of the most violent cities in the country. Even if you count suicides (and you really shouldn’t), I would be surprised if this were true. I suspect most people in the country don’t know a victim or offender of gun violence, while they do know several law-abiding gun owners leading them to believe that inner city issues—…

You may know someone, but not know it; I for example, have been, but I doubt many on Hacker News, or even many people I’m friends with, know this about me.

I’m really sorry that happened to you, Steve.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#128
post #112

Same-sex marriage never achieved enough support to be legalized [0][1]. It was voted against throughout the country including liberal states such as California. Same-sex marriage was legislated by a small number of judges. I'm not making an argument for or against so please don't debate me on the merits of this issue. I am merely pointing out that the people did not decide this issue. A very small number of elites di…

A) By what process were those “small number of judges” appointed? By what process were the appointers appointed?

B) Define “support”.

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#129
post #2

> Why hasn’t the world copied it? Because there's too much money* to be made in keeping the status quo. * I use the terms "money" and "power" to mean the same here.

How do illegal drugs convert to “money” and “power”?

(Apart from the US where opiate manufacturers are big lobbyists and some weed could both strip you of your right to vote and put you in a for-profit prison. The US is an outlier here)

Re: Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

#130
post #125
post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>we need to raise the visibility and openness of dealing with drug addiction, to come out of the closet so to speak Keep in mind you are talking about a social ailment to be corrected. It's tone deaf to LGBTQ community who has been considered a social ailment for a long time. If you avoid drawing analogies between mental/psychological illnesses and LGBTQ people, you will avoid coming off that way.

Your len is off. Homosexuality was illegal and slowly we've reached the point of gay marriage. A lot of political reforms are still required. Drug law reforms still need to progress. Gay rights only progressed because of a personal connection. Using the same method for drug reform is not tone deaf. It's a little offensive drug reform is a mental/psychological issue. For many it may be a choice over legal choices that…

>Using the same method for drug reform is not tone deaf.

Nobody is saying that using the same methods is tone deaf. Tone deafness is an insensitivity the nuances of marginalized groups. It's like saying we should fight systemic racism with the persistence of a field of laborers. The language is tone deaf to historical oppression. The message is right but the tone is way off.

I'm trying to be polite about this, but maybe if you were screamed at in the streets as a blight on society for being gay, you would understand how language like "drug addicts should 'come out of the closet' so that we can treat addiction" (paraphrased, but accurate) is insensitive to gays who were/are treated like social illnesses.

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