Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How I got here

pthorpe92.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

261–270 of 373 posts

Re: How I got here

#261

Post by frankyg »

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…

Also some the best countries to hide criminal activity without having to hide yourself. <3

Re: How I got here

#262

Post by frankyg »

MDMA either puts me to sleep or makes me talk faster than freaking Busta Rhymes raps, without effort. I recorded it once and it's crystal clear. Fun stuff.

Need to get to the science of that mechanism.

Re: How I got here

#263

Post by mormegil »

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…

I don't think MDMA is "legal or decriminalized" in the Czech Republic...? Sure, consumption of _anything_ is decriminalized here (you are allowed to possess only a tiny amount for your own consumption) but other than that, owning, offering, selling, importing, etc. MDMA is very much criminalized here!

Re: How I got here

#264

Post by Fischgericht »

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.

I sure would not have bought from you, as it's a stupid idea to buy from someone inside a club where it very well may be the case that the seller did not do quality control. For me, that would have been the part to feel bad about: "How on earth could I put other ravers lives in danger by selling pills that I have not had tested, and that could contain pretty much anything?".

I also agree that MDMA can be a dangerous substance of course. Far less toxic than alcohol, but still.

But compared to this, ending up in the US jail system carries FAR bigger risks. As you said: It could have ruined your life. It could also have ruined the life of people who bought from you, as they could also have ended up getting arrested.

I really can not imagine a drug available that will do worse things to your life than ending up inside the US jail system.

Re: How I got here

#266

Post by 3l3ktr4 »

I’m really happy that you found a way out of the trafficking life. That was a really nice thing to read and I think a lot of people will resonate with it. (Computer nerds that had tough times in life). I’m wishing you all the best in your fight against addiction and I’m definitely adding Unlocked Labs to my list of donations. Thanks for sharing your story.

Re: How I got here

#267

Post by all2 »

vunderba wrote: post #233
laurent_du wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No amount of missed meals will make me commit a rape, a murder, or other heinous crimes.

You don't know this. You can "imagine" how you'd react in a theoretical situation all you like, but It's like the first time you go skydiving - sure you know the safety record and you've got a parachute/reserve but until you get thrown out of a moving plane at 14,000 feet in the air, you have no idea whether you're going to react calmly or completely freak out. Likewise until you're actually in a life and death situa…

Not knowing the answer to these questions makes me wonder at who I am sometimes. How would I react to being thrown from a plane, a gun to my head, starving on the street. I thank God I haven't had to experience those things, but I still wonder at what kind of man I am.

Re: How I got here

#268

Post by sgu999 »

I'm always amazed at this country in which incarcerating someone for 10 years (!!) for non violent drug dealing is economical, but public healthcare and education aren't.

Re: How I got here

#269

Post by zamalek »

ulizzle wrote: post #110
JessicaHicklin wrote: post #94

Whatever people are incarcerated for, the fact of the matter is that 95% of the people currently incarcerated in the US will one day live next door to one or more of us. Isn't it better to prepare them to live there, self-sufficent and contributing to society? (Disclosure: I am the Cofounder of Unlocked Labs, Preston's current employer and formerly incarcerated myself). I can say without hesitation, Preston is an inc…

There are a lot of historical examples arguing for and against you. But murder and rape is far different than getting popped for heroin or selling weed and our laws already reflect that

Rehabilitation is rehabilitation.

In contrast, the American system aims for penance, which is why we call it penetentiary. You have to "pay for your actions" - which has absolutely nothing to do with rehabilitation and preventing recidivism. Paying for your actions is deeply ingrained is the American zeitgeist - making the concept of favoring rehabilitation appear immoral.

Regardless, it could be argued that rehabilitating a perpetrator of more severe crimes is a harsher form of punitive justice. Living with your (newly acquired) guilt and regret about your actions is more difficult than hanging out with, and learning from, your peers in crime university - prison.

Also, selling heroin is often manslaughter.

Re: How I got here

#270

Post by scbrg »

closewith wrote: post #112
laurent_du wrote: post #96

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No amount of missed meals will make me commit a rape, a murder, or other heinous crimes.

If you honestly believe this, you've never been truly hungry. Most to all people will kill for food.

While that's probably true, I don't really see its relevance. I'm fairly certain that exactly zero of the people spending prison time for murder in my country committed murder because they were hungry.

I'm open to the possibility that the situation may be different in other countries, but I strongly doubt it's a leading cause pretty much anywhere.

Post reply on HN