Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts

Post by slashdev » Sat, Jul 08, 2023, 11:35 AM UTC

Gareth321 wrote: post #269

slashdev wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s very low, lower than regular rehab, which is already not that effective.

Which isn’t an argument against forced treatment because nominally, more people get treatment. To illustrate using made-up numbers: Policy A: No forced treatment: 10% of addicts attempt treatment with a 10% success rate = 1% overall success rate. Policy B: Forced treatment: 10% of addicts attempt treatment with a 10% success rate = 1% + 20% of addicts forced into treatment with a 5% success rate = 1% = 2% overall suc…

Post by base » Sat, Jul 08, 2023, 11:37 AM UTC

dazc wrote: post #205

Animats wrote: post #197

“When you first back off enforcement, there are not many people walking over the line that you’ve removed. And the public think it’s working really well. Then word gets out that there’s an open market, limits to penalties, and you start drawing in more drug users. Then you’ve got a more stable drug culture, and, frankly, it doesn’t look as good anymore.” There's the Singapore solution. "Singapore executes man for tra…

The opposite of this is the UK where you can go to a festival and have any drugs you bought tested to make sure they are genuine and then handed back to you, no questions asked. Obviously, the solution is somewhere between these two extremes. The softer end seems to be loosing though.

Post by JulianChastain » Sat, Jul 08, 2023, 11:39 AM UTC

throwawaylinux wrote: post #331

cheekibreeki2 wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

California is in a weird place due to the weather, which almost guarantees the self dumping of people living outdoors. I'd be curious to see how this factors into these equations. Much of Europe gets pretty cold in winter.

Weird in what way? There's a dozen with higher average minimum temperatures, several with not signifiantly more rain (or less, Texas).

Post by wesselbindt » Sat, Jul 08, 2023, 11:43 AM UTC

blitzar wrote: post #187

wesselbindt wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly, I completely agree, it's a very silly thought! What makes drug use different from my example that people aren't able to have an informed opinion on it when they're involved?

It's like saying rapists are too close to rape and therefore their opinions on rape legislation are skewed. Drug users are not the victims

Post by thebigjewbowski » Sat, Jul 08, 2023, 11:44 AM UTC

rscrawfo wrote: post #337

Broken_Hippo wrote: post #318

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tent cities don't exist solely in places without access to housing "Access to housing" isn't enough. You might have "access" to health care but unable to afford it. You need housing as a right - even without payment - alongside enough adequate housing for everyone. And allow folks to do things in their own home. If they cannot do it at their home with other people, the person in question does not have adequate housin…

This is a real question, not a retort. But I have known addicts, they don’t exactly take care of their things. It’s very easy to imagine that much of the state supplied housing would quickly become unsafe and or destroyed. How do you handle that?