My previous comment the last time this was posted:
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2725892
Anyone have any more info?
Time to end the war on drugs
211–217 of 217 posts
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#212Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Organised religion fizzled away when faced with widespread access to the facts Where? That's certainly not the case in America; access to facts does nothing more than make believers even more devout.
In the minds of the educated middle class.
Who are vastly vastly outnumbered. If facts changed minds, religion wouldn't exist.
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#213The whole war on drugs thing is a hysteria created by certain aspects of drug-use being artificially blown out of the proportion. Many of the risks associated with drug use (like overdose or addiction) are actually created by the legal system.
Here's how it works. If you overdose, and you go to ER you're forced to admit you did something illegal. Many people would rather die than face a life of humility that's unfairly associated with being a junkie. Not to mention overdoses would be less likely if everything was legal and properly labeled.
Same thing with addiction. Removing stigma and legal consequences associated with being a drug-addict will help many people seek help if they need it. How many people do you think are too afraid to go the doctor and admit they have problems, considering drug use is illegal and stigmatized? A lot.
I think it's a matter of creating a minority and punishing the fuck out of that minority. Being a drug-addict right now is like being gay or black hundreds of years ago.
Being an addict is not a fucking choice. It's a grueling mental torture accompanied by physical torture that's relieved with a consumption of a particular substance.
When you're addicted to opiates and you use, it's not because you want to rebel against the world. At that point it's about PLEASE STOP THE FUCKING PAIN. Mental and physical pain, violent diahrrea, puking, being unable to sleep for days.. basically all your natural painkillers are gone and everything is pain. All of that can be ceased with a hit.
The fact that anyone thinks it's okay to throw these people in jail sickens the fuck out of me. And you know what, I don't fucking care. Some of the best minds used heroin, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain. Wanna throw them in jail or fuck with them to the point of suicide (as with Cobain)? Go ahead. "Drug warriors" are like a grown-up version of bullies punching a sick kid.
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#214Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey, sorry I downvoted you when the post was just "O". The lack of a socialised healthcare system is actually a boon in this case, since the state is basically getting rid of a large cost (funding the police work on the war on drugs) without creating another cost (since patients then have to pay for themselves). Isn't it?
No, it isn't. In Portugal, the healthcare system is free.
Unfortunately, that's not true. Not only you have to pay a fee for many basic services (called "Taxas moderadoras"), as they'll double in 2012.
As a grandson of a retired couple who had to pay 60 Euro for a public hospital bill just a couple months ago, I can tell you that not only are is it not free, as it can be too expensive already considering the low salaries and pensions.
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#215Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you for the correction! You are right. I was thinking about the act of "aerial-spraying of drug producing crops". For Wikipedia: "In many cases the spraying is carried out by American contractors, such as DynCorp, using planes and helicopters to spray Roundup on coca plantations. Aerial spraying has been repeatedly condemned by human rights and environmental activists because of its affect on human populations…
Is there a Roundup-Ready coca plant?
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#216Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the minds of the educated middle class.
Who are vastly vastly outnumbered. If facts changed minds, religion wouldn't exist.
Facts + time = changed mind.
Various primitive gods/spirits probably fitted the available facts pretty well at some point.
The educated middle class is perhaps outnumbered, but holds much power (ha like iOS vs Android) in that most teachers are educated middle class. And at least in the UK, teachers seem to be mostly areligious.
Re: Time to end the war on drugs
#217Earlier quoted context omitted.
Who are vastly vastly outnumbered. If facts changed minds, religion wouldn't exist.
Facts + time = changed mind. Various primitive gods/spirits probably fitted the available facts pretty well at some point. The educated middle class is perhaps outnumbered, but holds much power (ha like iOS vs Android) in that most teachers are educated middle class. And at least in the UK, teachers seem to be mostly areligious.
> And at least in the UK, teachers seem to be mostly areligious.
Lucky you.