Earlier quoted context omitted.
> solve poverty How?
Maybe a first step would be to prevent the ultra rich to get even richer.
Do you think Portugal really has a lot of ultra-rich people sitting around to fleece?
Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
51–60 of 660 posts
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should the state spend any money here at all? If you want the freedom from society to use drugs, then you shouldn't rely on society for that.
The argument for why the government should spend money is because not spending it would be more expensive or yield worse outcomes.
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Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#53I love it, the entire argument of this article boils down to, "A problem with visibility" rather than any failure of the policy. As though an existing problem being visible isn't societal pressure to better address the problem. Oh they also present statistics contained to the 2019-2023 period as though that wasn't pandemic-driven.
The issue is that making a behavior more visible tends to normalize it.
In the United States, it's as visible as anywhere in Portugal. The visibility just isn't distributed evenly. When you hear people complain about such things, it's usually the upper class whining about how distasteful it all is.
Whether or not visibility normalizes drug use behaviors, I couldn't say. They were normalized before I was born and I'll be 50 next year.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#54Are there countries that have successfully reduced drug use among their population without implementing strong penalties for possession?
Yes. Portugal.
When they fully funded their rehab and social service program, the system worked.
Then they reduced funding and seem surprised the programs don’t work any more.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#55Has any advanced civilization been gung-ho about legalized drugs? There are probably strong socioevolutionary reasons why this is the case.
Other than religious proscriptions against alcohol, I can't think of any civilization in history that has outright banned any drugs. Were the Romans, Egyptians or Persians especially anti-drug? Any of the ancient Indian or Chinese kingdoms and empires? On the other hand, cannabis has a long tradition of use in ancient India[1]. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabis_in_India
Europe, circa the middle ages, had cultural taboos against certain "witchy" herbs. To the best of my knowledge, this is the only other cultural prohibition against some class of drugs at large.
I do believe such bans to be hideous and downright stupid. It is crass authoritarianism, nothing less than the subordination of the individual's body and mind to a tyrannical society clownish enough to demand it.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#56Talk about burying the lede, 11 years ago they privatized their drug oversight operation and cut funding by over 80%. Gee, I wonder if that could have an impact? > After years of economic crisis, Portugal decentralized its drug oversight operation in 2012. A funding drop from 76 million euros ($82.7 million) to 16 million euros ($17.4 million) forced Portugal’s main institution to outsource work previously done by th…
Why should the state spend any money here at all? If you want the freedom from society to use drugs, then you shouldn't rely on society for that.
You seem to be acting as though addiction and the issues which give rise to it are somehow not part of society, and therefore should be discarded. Even ignoring why that's wrong, ignoring why letting people slip through the cracks still has an impact on your conception of society...
...how about basic human empathy?
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
The issue is that making a behavior more visible tends to normalize it.
I wouldn't say it's a "learn by example". If anything, it makes me doesn't want to try heroine It's like if we presented corpses of dead drivers on the main streets – I bet it'd greatly lower overspeeding and drunk driving
This is probably not true.for example:
People know smoking kills. The tabacco industry even popularized stories about sad COPD patients that were dying in the hospital and still wouldnt quit smoking.
"Its that good!" "It's so nice! Even when you know it kills you, you still dont want to stop! Not to mention! Quiting is hard! Real hard! Dont try to quit. You will only suffer."
That is the narrative that they push.
The human mind is Strange sometimes.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#58Has any advanced civilization been gung-ho about legalized drugs? There are probably strong socioevolutionary reasons why this is the case.
Most civilizations, at least in your meaning of the term, never had to deal with the problem much. For much of Europe's history, the only known drug of consequence was booze, and it wasn't easy to make. Economy's simply weren't diversified enough that some could be drunks, they'd have nothing to pay for booze with and no one was going to let them freeload and drink all the good stuff besides.
Most of the drugs that are a problem for us are late 19th century or 20th century inventions. Sure, there are some others here and there... in their most diluted, least problematic forms. But that's about it.
A better question than yours would be "when has criminalizing drugs ever done any of the things we might hope it would do?"... but it's a difficult question that most people want to avoid. That they're willing to accept dishonest, fallacious answers for.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why should the state spend any money here at all? If you want the freedom from society to use drugs, then you shouldn't rely on society for that.
You seem to be acting as though addiction and the issues which give rise to it are somehow not part of society, and therefore should be discarded. Even ignoring why that's wrong, ignoring why letting people slip through the cracks still has an impact on your conception of society... ...how about basic human empathy?
> ...how about basic human empathy?
How about empathy from your side? I have lost a friend due to addiction despite "care".
The best solution is not being exposed to some classes of drugs at all and fixing other issues that cause this.
Re: Once hailed for decriminalizing drugs, Portugal is now having doubts
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
So to solve one incredibly hard problem humanity has never solved... you need to first solve another incredibly hard problem? Well shit, get on it Portugal! /s
indeed, link hands everybody, and chant with me the centrist anthem: better things aren't possible and we should just give up! better things aren't possible and we should just give up! better things aren't possible and we should just give up!
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