To get rid of/reduce the burden a systemic drug problem has on our society I think we need to ask ourselves why we have a drug problem to begin with.
Is it boredom? High rates of hopelessness, dispair and depression? Sociocultural attitudes/normalities?
The opiate epidemic in the USA makes up the brunt of the burden seen in the USA via overdose deaths, healthcare burden, societal ramifications etc. The initiation of the opiate epidemic was a byproduct of unregulated capitalism and corporate greed.
The problem is getting worse, just as the methamphetamine/amphetamine epidemic in Australia is reaching gargantuan proportions. Our current approach isn’t working/mitigating harm and until we consider trialling a different approach to tackle this issue I only imagine this issue will get worse.
I’d argue perhaps we ought to take a page out of the handbooks from various countries of which have managed to reduce the societal/health burdens association with drug use.
Cater towards treatment, financial stability and public education… Not locking people up and throwing away the key. This epidemic should be seen akin to a public health crisis, not a criminal justice issue.
Btw, hours after our conversation about SHTF and doomsday, our Capitol Building was stormed. As I’ve said, much of the Anglosphere and some of Western Europe has become unmanageable, which generally speaking has lead to drug use.
I’ve already gone over that I don’t want drug users or petty dealers (eg, frat boys selling dime bags) having their lives ruined. I said I’d favor severe punishment for large scale distributors and if necessary, increasingly draconian measures for a likely significant reduction or halt in distribution. This likely puts me at odds with Nearly all posters here, many of whom I believe have a libertarian worldview.
PS: My mind can’t be changed and I don’t want to derail the thread.
The data I’ve read doesn’t appear to indicate draconian penalties/policies reduce use or perceived availability in any way whatsoever.
Heard about this … Scary times we live in.
I respect that and admire you’re willingness/ability to continually give your voice and engage in civil discourse despite sometimes being up against opposing bodies of thought. That being said I don’t believe nearly all here have a libertarian worldview akin to mine. Rather there’s a spectrum you and I are on near opposing/opposite ends of.
Yes, they cleared everyone out and confirmed Biden at like 4am, finally, so that part is done. I’m sure there will be more protests, we’ll see how they go. We aren’t close to a full on society break down though, IMO anyways. Of course everyone says that until it happens.
Day to day for the average person, nothing has changed. I’m still at work today, etc. It’s a big deal historically I guess, but not life changing for the average person.
The can can be kicked down the road for a very long time. I predict we descend to third-world status and inefficiently trudge along unduly (with the high crime and degeneracy that comes with that) or that we become unmanageable, have a civil war, and Balkanize. I believe our kids will definitely see this if we don’t.
As I’ve said over and over, Americans are so aloof and arrogant that it’s likely if nuclear warheads were headed here, they’d still say, “that can’t happen here; this is America.”
