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Portugal’s radical drugs policy is working (2017)

theguardian.com

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

#111

Post by wtdata »

adamcharnock wrote: post #21

From what I hear (as someone now living in rural Portugal), a turning point came when most of the electorate knew someone suffering from a drug addiction. Be it a family member, partner, or friend - there came a point when the majority of people could not only see the problems caused by the epidemic, but could also empathise with those with addictions. As a result of this understanding/empathy, it was possible to pas…

Same-sex marriage is about LGB. I really don't understand (or actually I do, I just think it's devious) why we keep mixing sexual preferences in partners (i.e. Lesbian Gay Bisexual), and sexual identity (Transsexual, Queer). These two things are not in the same category at all.

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

#112

Post by zcid »

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 did.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_legislation_... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._state_constitutio...

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

#114

Post by [deleted] »

cjblomqvist wrote: post #86

A lot of comments about why decriminalization of drug use is a no brainer. I'd like to point out that it's not that simple. From what I understand from different "experiments" like Portugal, it's a lot depending on context (eg culture) and how it's done. For example, easier access (lower taxes) on alcohol caused a rise in alcoholics and alcohol related deaths in Finland). Not everyone living in Colorado is happy abou…

[deleted]

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

#115

Post by steveklabnik »

weberc2 wrote: post #92
labster wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet most people in the USA know a victim of gun violence, yet we are unable to copy even a portion of the regulations used by a majority of our allies. There's also a point beyond which a problem is so endemic that people consider it the natural state of affairs.

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.

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

#116

Post by [deleted] »

AnthonyMouse wrote: post #44
icebraining wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> For most intents and purposes, the difference between legal and fully decriminalized is not significant. Parent talked about profit, but in Portugal the production, distribution and sale are still a crime, and therefore the people profiting from those activities are still the same.

The profit is in enforcing the law. Defense contractors and prison guard unions don't make any money when something is nominally illegal but nobody is actually spending any money trying to stop it.

[deleted]

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

#117

Post by baddox »

javagram wrote: post #94
weberc2 wrote: 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…

> You don’t know anyone who’s ever been robbed at gunpoint

Uhhh, no? Is that a question you would expect people to answer Yes to?

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

#118

Post by Ensorceled »

daenz wrote: post #97
Ensorceled wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People became more sympathetic to LGBTQ issues when people started coming out of the closet and they learned that their neighbours, cousins, nieces and nephews were being prevented from marrying their loved ones. We didn't need to "turn more people gay" to accomplish this. Similarly, we need to raise the visibility and openness of dealing with drug addiction, to come out of the closet so to speak, not increase drug a…

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.

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

#120

Post by greglindahl »

zcid wrote: 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…

Same-sex marriage rights were obtained in several states via a vote in the legislature. And Americans overwhelmingly support the US Constitution and court system. So "the people" were involved in both of those paths.
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