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How I got here

pthorpe92.github.io

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Re: How I got here

#271

Post by andrepd »

hereme888 wrote: post #248
Fischgericht wrote: post #215

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Tho…

Haha I understand your point. But it is a dangerous substance when used without medical supervision. And more importantly, what I was selling was presumably MDMA. I didn't have kits to check the batches for adulteration. What if people died? I was not ready for that responsibility.

Isn't that precisely an argument for legalisation? You wouldn't have 19 year kids selling shit, you would have pharmacies and certification processes and etc.

Re: How I got here

#272

Post by sealeck »

Fischgericht wrote: post #215
hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

You should not have been arrested. MDMA should have been legal. End of story. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02565-4 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34708874/ https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/18/well/mind/mdma-ecstasy-ri... https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/07/03/australia-just-lega... It's legal or decriminalized in Portugal, The Czech Republic, The Netherlands, and Switzerland, by the way. Surprise: Tho…

In Switzerland the sentencing isn't very tough for possession in small quantities, but you certainly cannot _sell_ MDMA and hope for lenient treatment.

Re: How I got here

#273

Post by concordDance »

hu3 wrote: post #138
Kye wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are the recidivism rates on those crimes like? Our laws often reflect misguided morals, not hard data. Justice is supposed to be blind. That's an ideal to reach for, not reject out of hand.

https://smart.ojp.gov/somapi/chapter-5-adult-sex-offender-re... > Sexual recidivism rates range from 5 percent after three years to 24 percent after 15 years. Also, I wouldn't put murder and rape in the same sentence. There are some situations where murder reasoning might be debatable even if still wrong (self defense against and archenemy that promised to assassinate your family, for example). But rape? There's no r…

Except rape has much lower recidivism than crimes like theft or murder.

So someone who is a murderer is more likely to commit crimes when released than a rapist.

Re: How I got here

#274

Post by alfnor »

malodyets wrote: post #155
RecycledEle wrote: post #43

The apparent lack of opportunities for anyone is easy to solve with Dorm Room Welfare: Open free dorms next to the campuses of community colleges. Anyone who is physically able to live on their own, but who can not afford to live on their own can move in and live there as long as they are working towards being economically self sufficient. Working towards being economically self sufficient can mean passing academic c…

This sounds like the deal I have had with my (young-adult) kids (who live at home).

Unfortunately, some parents believe in "tough love" (throw them into the ocean to learn them to swim).

Re: How I got here

#275

Post by alfnor »

j7ake wrote: post #181

If I get locked up maybe I would finally get to doing the exercises from the art of computer programming.

It isn't the worst deal because you don't have to worry about paying rent, so you can just focus 100% on getting good at whatever skillset you choose to pursue.

Re: How I got here

#276

Post by morgante »

Aeolun wrote: post #242
codingrightnow wrote: post #171

As a former software engineer for over a decade and current corrections officer in a max level state facility, this is a very interesting topic. My facility has a large college presence within it. While there are problems with it, I think overall it is probably a net positive for the staff and inmates. At the same time, I don't believe that we have more than maybe a small handful of nonviolent/drug offenders; anybody…

I think for all the criminals that are going to be released back into society at some point, recidivism should be at the top of our mind, not punishment. If you can stop them from doing it again by locking them up in comfort for 10 years instead of discomfort for 20, then that is what we should do (assuming that doesn’t cause more people to do it in the first place).

> If you can stop them from doing it again by locking them up in comfort for 10 years instead of discomfort for 20, then that is what we should do.

You're never going to stop many of them from reoffending. Even the "best" rehabilitation programs have crime rates far above the general population.

The additional 10 years is 10 more years where they can't hurt innocent people. The justice system exists for the benefit of society and innocent citizens, not criminals.

> assuming that doesn’t cause more people to do it in the first place

Why would you ever assume that? Punishments absolutely have a deterrent effect.

Re: How I got here

#277

Post by skrebbel »

hereme888 wrote: post #213

I could have been that guy, and worse. When I was 19 I got caught selling a bunch of MDMA at a night club. Undercover police caught me, and by God's grace they chose to let me go. MDMA had just begun to carry a minimum 10 yr prison sentence throughout the state. I had no idea what I was doing in my life, like I was asleep and not awake, until I got caught that night. About 15 minutes into the interrogation at the sce…

Offtopic, but minimum sentences are nuts. What's the point of judges and juries etc if we make the law so aggressive that they hardly have a say anymore?

Re: How I got here

#278

Post by supertofu »

Fischgericht wrote: post #225
supertofu wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I resonate with this comment strongly. I have never been diagnosed, but I strongly suspect I am neurodivergent. My extreme social isolation/anxiety in my college years and twenties led me to dependency on alcohol and cannabis. I never tried hard drugs, but my life back then was just one tiny twist of fate away from me becoming an opioid addict. I did manage to become sober, and a lot of social challenges have become…

You might want to try Ketamine. In some countries it's now available legally from neurologists as nose spray. If not, get it from the dark net or a friend in the rave community. Or ask as friend who is a veterinarian. You get mix your own nose spray with that. Before Ketamine, I never in my life had been able to get into a group of people with them being closer than about 50cm to me. Which means: I could never join a…

Thank you for the recommendation. I worry about developing a dependency to ketamine, but in NY state where I live, it is legal for therapeutic purposes. I might consider it. I prefer microdoses of psilocybin, since I have a bias towards plant medicine, and I know exactly where the fungus came from :)

And just a funny note re: dancing -- part of my healing journey has been through ecstatic dance. It is a completely sober practice of dancing intuitively and freely with others. While I love ecstatic dance and can easily dance with no fear or anxiety, even in non-ecstatic spaces, I cannot actually speak to strangers or express my desire to become friends with someone.

It's easier for me to dance with complete strangers than it is to converse with them :) One of my most recent social struggles has been the discrepancy between intensely beautiful and intimate bonds formed with people while practicing ecstatic dance, and then finding myself completely unable bond with them via conversation after the dance is over.

I sometimes wish I lived in a world where no one knew my language and it was ok to have a partnership that relied only on body language. Relying on speech to bond with others has failed me for decades and I don't understand why.

Re: How I got here

#279

Post by andai »

chroma wrote: post #198
vertis wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should try Europe or Australia. The worst I've ever experienced is having someone break and enter while I wasn't there. I have lived in what could be considered less than savoury areas in Sydney and have stayed all over Europe and the world (as a digital nomad, currently at 45 countries). And you won't feel the need to carry a gun...

I wasn't born in the US. I've lived in other countries. There are other disadvantages to places like Europe or Australia (or Japan or China, where I've also spent time) that make the tradeoff not worth it to me. The biggest issue is that you'll always be a foreigner. Even if you jump through the hoops to become a citizen, you won't be accepted the same way that Americans accept immigrants. US conservatives are painte…

Interesting points. Yeah, it is pretty funny hearing conservatives being called Nazis and fascists all the time. In many ways America is already living the Star Trek future. Well, except for the UBI. (You'll probably get that soon though, the robots are just about done cooking.)

I heard you can get a used Cessna for $15k. But maybe you want something fancy ;)

Re: How I got here

#280

Post by supertofu »

qingcharles wrote: post #224
supertofu wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you in contact with your family at all?

I apologise if that comment made it seem like I was currently incarcerated. I've been out for a few months now. Yes, in contact with my brother. No other family interested in contact any longer. Mother died while I was locked up :(

I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I'm glad there is at least one family member there for you.
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