Voters rejecting the war on drugs is a win for public health

Post by monktastic1 » Sat, Nov 07, 2020, 4:00 PM UTC

__s wrote: post #15

gotoeleven wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you tried cocaine??? It's great!

Exhilaration and lasting euphoria, which in no way differs from the normal euphoria of the healthy person. You perceive an increase of self-control and possess more vitality and capacity for work. In other words, you are simply normal, and it is soon hard to believe you are under the influence of any drug. Long intensive physical work is performed without any fatigue. This result is enjoyed without any of the unpleas…

Post by ericmay » Sat, Nov 07, 2020, 4:01 PM UTC

Post by gravypod » Sat, Nov 07, 2020, 4:02 PM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #5

gravypod wrote: post #4

Could this be a situation where politicians have faulty data and use that to guide how they act? I would have assumed that a majority of these states - and my home state of NJ - would be very anti-drug but these votes with >60% in favor of legalization show that significant portions of America think drug-related activities are not "immoral" or "wrong" and should not be criminalized. If you had asked me a few years ag…

> Maybe now that politicians see that people are very against drug laws we'll see some of them renege on their hard anti-drug stances. The purpose of existing drug laws, especially marijuana, is to give police a reason to harass and discriminate against certain populations.

Post by loeg » Sat, Nov 07, 2020, 4:05 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #16

bjt2n3904 wrote: post #6

> Cannabis has been rebranded as a wellness panacea. Mushrooms and MDMA are making headlines as therapy tools, not party fuel. Man, these guys are late to the party. Alcohol works great for treating symptoms of stress, too! Can't be stressed, anxious, or depressed if I'm blitzed out of my mind!

Amphetamines were originally marketed as diet pills. Valium (diazepam) was marketed as a stress reducer.

Post by ericmay » Sat, Nov 07, 2020, 4:09 PM UTC

hedora wrote: post #28

ericmay wrote: post #23

I've mentioned this elsewhere, and I say this believing that substance abuse is a public health problem and not a criminal one, but: I'm not sure it's the best idea to give a bunch of people stuck living a lonely life in the suburbs, addicted to social media, and have to pay for their own healthcare, an easier path to hard drugs like heroin. There is no doubt in my mind that decriminalization will make these types of…

They could already access hard drugs. The law provides a lot of additional funding to mental health and substance abuse programs, which could actually help people in those situations. Decriminalization has worked extremely well elsewhere (it dramatically reduced substance abuse problems); hopefully it will in the US as well.