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Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

drugpolicy.org

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Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#61

Post by worik »

ta1234567890 wrote: post #9
imperio59 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Experimenting with people's lives is not a responsible way to experiment. No one is denying these drugs are harmful, yet Oregon is basically saying "go ahead, it's fine, use these drugs". Seeing what is happening with the Marijuana lobbies coming in and putting in billions in lobbying should scare everybody. We have big tobacco to look at for where this leads. The next obvious step is to legalize all drugs, and let t…

> let these lobbies profit off the back of addicts and their families and their ruined lives This already happens and has been the case for a long time. People get addicted to drugs regardless of their legality. The way to address addiction is through proper support programs and good healthcare for the people that suffer from it.

As the English demonstrated in the 1960s the best way to deal with addiction, in their case opiates, is to supply the addicts with good quality drugs.

The drugs and the addiction do no harm (opiates, nicotine is very harmful - and legal).

The ISA made the English stop the programmes which was a catastrophe for the addicts

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#62

Post by aksss »

ogre_codes wrote: post #22
imperio59 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Experimenting with people's lives is not a responsible way to experiment. No one is denying these drugs are harmful, yet Oregon is basically saying "go ahead, it's fine, use these drugs". Seeing what is happening with the Marijuana lobbies coming in and putting in billions in lobbying should scare everybody. We have big tobacco to look at for where this leads. The next obvious step is to legalize all drugs, and let t…

> Oregon is basically saying "go ahead, it's fine, use these drugs". Not at all. Oregon is saying they are going to stop using police resources to punish people for self-destructive behavior. Most drug users are struggling to begin with. Adding prison time for something which is not hurting others is cruel. > The next obvious step is to legalize all drugs, and let these lobbies profit off the back of addicts and thei…

The idealist in me wants to agree, but drug use does often hurt others by way of crime, social disfunction and destroying family relationships/unity (which is a hurt that can affect a subsequent generation at least).

Not always, but often.

The self-contained, highly functional, occasional heroin user is real but there are plenty that do not live up to the expectation of being responsible drug users.

Prison works as a stand in for involuntary rehab, and a very poor one. But While thinking Oregon is over correcting, I will watch from afar with an open mind to see the outcome.

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#64

Post by catstack »

zappo2938 wrote: post #38

Meanwhile drug users who often don't want to stop will now move to Oregon.

I welcome anyone who is suffering from addiction to move to Oregon. I hope that as a society we can help them overcome their addiction instead of treating them as a criminals and perpetuating the cycle. It's a suffering human and I don't care what state they live in. I hope other states will move to enact similar policies. We are in this together.

I truly believe that legalizing drugs, taxing them, and offering treatment and rehabilitation is the way to go.

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#65

Post by frongpik »

GuB-42 wrote: post #46

Just to make things clear, decriminalization is not legalization. Drugs are still illegal, and users risk a $100 fine, especially if they are uncooperative. The difference is that it is now a civil violation instead of a crime, so no record, no jail time, kind of like a parking ticket. Drug trafficking is still a crime.

What counts as drug trafficking? Carrying weed across county lines?

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#66

Post by ogre_codes »

GuB-42 wrote: post #46

Just to make things clear, decriminalization is not legalization. Drugs are still illegal, and users risk a $100 fine, especially if they are uncooperative. The difference is that it is now a civil violation instead of a crime, so no record, no jail time, kind of like a parking ticket. Drug trafficking is still a crime.

> Drug trafficking is still a crime.

Which is how this should be for many drugs.

Though I would like a clean source for the occasional dose of LSD. Just... you know once a month or so.

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#67

Post by throwaway0a5e »

frongpik wrote: post #65
GuB-42 wrote: post #46

Just to make things clear, decriminalization is not legalization. Drugs are still illegal, and users risk a $100 fine, especially if they are uncooperative. The difference is that it is now a civil violation instead of a crime, so no record, no jail time, kind of like a parking ticket. Drug trafficking is still a crime.

What counts as drug trafficking? Carrying weed across county lines?

In most states any amount over some small amount can be prosecuted as trafficking. I dunno what the limits are for Oregon.

I'm pretty sure they get the same people who think a six pack is "binge drinking" and one range day's worth of ammo is a "stockpile" to come up with those limits.

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#68

Post by throwaway2121bx »

I'm a proponent for legalizing drugs. But I believe there will be negative long-term consequences from drug use becoming normalized and so easy to obtain. People who wouldn't otherwise use drugs could be forgiven (after reading about legalization in the binary and positive way it is often reported, or from walking around a city with an upmarket weed shop every few blocks) for believing it can't be that bad for you and trying it out. I can say from first hand experience with weed that it slows down your cognition and makes you less productive, and it can easily become habitual and hard to stop. I hate to think of how many new addicts we might get if the hard stuff like heroin becomes normalized. I think legalized drugs should come with scarier warnings, like cigarettes, and there should be marketing campaigns against their use, like with alcohol. The primary objective is to not lock people up for drugs, to give them support they need, and to move their sale (to people who are buying them anyway) from the black market to a taxed and regulated one. There should be a secondary objective to not get a whole lot of new people hooked.

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#69

Post by ogre_codes »

frongpik wrote: post #65
GuB-42 wrote: post #46

Just to make things clear, decriminalization is not legalization. Drugs are still illegal, and users risk a $100 fine, especially if they are uncooperative. The difference is that it is now a civil violation instead of a crime, so no record, no jail time, kind of like a parking ticket. Drug trafficking is still a crime.

What counts as drug trafficking? Carrying weed across county lines?

It's mostly quantity limits.

https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2020/11/here-are-the-dru...

The measure makes it a noncriminal violation similar to a traffic ticket to possess the following:

  Less than 1 gram of heroin
  Less than 1 gram, or less than 5 pills, of MDMA
  Less than 2 grams of methamphetamine
  Less than 40 units of LSD
  Less than 12 grams of psilocybin
  Less than 40 units of methadone
  Less than 40 pills of oxycodone
  Less than 2 grams of cocaine
The measure reduces from a felony to a misdemeanor simple possession of substances containing:

  1 to 3 grams of heroin
  1 to 4 grams of MDMA
  2 to 8 grams of methamphetamine
  2 to 8 grams of cocaine

Re: Drug decriminalization in Oregon begins today

#70

Post by recursive »

throwaway0a5e wrote: post #67
frongpik wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What counts as drug trafficking? Carrying weed across county lines?

In most states any amount over some small amount can be prosecuted as trafficking. I dunno what the limits are for Oregon. I'm pretty sure they get the same people who think a six pack is "binge drinking" and one range day's worth of ammo is a "stockpile" to come up with those limits.

Drinking a six-pack at a time does sound kind of binge-y to me.
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