Want to cut crime by two thirds in 6 months?

[Halibut]

I am from the 60s, after all. My g-g-g-generation 'invented' drugs as a weekend pastime, so they say

 

I wouldn't be happy if one of my kids/relatives became an addict, obviously, but if all drugs were produced under proper conditions and sold either at chemists or in a tobacconists, I'd be a lot less worried about the effects on their health and wellbeing.

 

Decriminalising and regulation would not only reduce the incidence of petty theft, but also of street prostitution and the associated dangers to the girls. Most of the working girls are only on the game because someone's addicted them, it's not exactly a career of choice.

It sounds like a win-win to me.

 

Good point. I don't know if this has specifically been looked into into any of the trials here or abroad, but I wouldn't mind betting there wouldn't be too many girls selling their bodies if they could obtain clean gear free or at cost price.

[I1L2T3]

I'd support the plan. 100%.

[MAMALOCHA!]

you mean the drug dealers would have to get a proper job

[JFKvsNixon]

There's a difference between the two that you seem not to be able to grasp.

 

Drug users choose to do what they do, they do so in the full knowlege of what the consequences are as well.

 

People who get sick for any reason and with any sickness do not choose to do so and sociaty has a duty to care for them.

 

Oh, and just for your uneducated benefit. There nothing in socialisum to say that criminals should be cared for, quite the contray in actuality. Deviants should be eliminated, or haven't you read your Marx lately.

 

How many mentally ill people choose to 'self medicate' with illegal and legal drugs?

[TeaFan]

How many mentally ill people choose to 'self medicate' with illegal and legal drugs?

 

Loads, in my experience. When you can wait up to a year and a half for treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, for example, whilst experiencing terrifying flashbacks almost daily, I can see the attraction of self-medication. Which is why I think prescribing of heroin should be one strand, but we shouldn't neglect issues such as access to good mental health services. The two go hand in hand really, and we should make sure that underlying factors such as poor mental health are addressed as well. On the face of it these things look expensive, but so is maintaining people in treatment and on benefits for years. Socially and financially, what this guy is suggesting is the way forward.

[Halibut]

I'm a little surprised that (Gault's trolling aside) there seems to have been precious little condemnation of the ideas proposed here - perhaps the idea is one of those that 'goes against the grain' for many, but is clearly so sensible that the naysayers are aware that it would be hard to criticise without looking foolish?

[Tipex]

We can only give it a try cant we? this idea may just work.

[PC Brigade]

 

Drug users choose to do what they do, they do so in the full knowlege of what the consequences are as well.

 

.

 

Oh I see! It's that simple is it?

 

You've obviously done a lot of research into this and can point to academic sources to back up your findings I assume?

[Ms Macbeth]

Decriminalising and regulation would not only reduce the incidence of petty theft, but also of street prostitution and the associated dangers to the girls. Most of the working girls are only on the game because someone's addicted them, it's not exactly a career of choice.

 

It sounds like a win-win to me.

 

And me! I doubt many working girls choose prostitution as a career. The majority do it to fund their addiction - and the vicious circle carries on. I'm following the TV docu/drama about the five murdered girls in Ipswich, all of them funded their habit by being on the street. If they'd been given drugs on prescription along with the necessary support, they wouldn't have needed to sell themselves.

 

Illegal drugs bring misery to so many people, not just those addicted, but their families and the victims of their crimes. Controlled prescribing and appropriate support seems such an obvious route to go down, why can't the politicians see it?