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Should hard drugs be decriminalized and then supply pharmaceutical grade drugs to users.

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Doodski

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The Province of British Columbia in Canada is lobbying the federal government to legalize hard drugs. Many people think this is a solution including the front line medical workers. Cannabis is already legal Canada wide under federal law. The war on hard drugs is not succeeding and there are some thousands of people dead from hard drugs in British Columbia each year. The total amount of hard drugs related deaths around the world must be huge and the perpetrators are not being brought to justice. So legalize or not?
 

JSmith

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Not legalise, but decriminalise for small amounts so individual users are diverted from the court system and have the matter treated as a health issue. Harm minimisation and education is the key here, not convicting people of a crime. A step further would be to create supply from official sources that is taxed for state/national revenue and much cheaper than the black market... this will take the business away to an extent from criminal enterprise by making it less profitable and not as worth the risk. Their dirty business needs to be crushed and regulated properly.

There has also been some research done that possibly showed that mental illness associated with hard usage is often not caused by drug use itself (certainly exacerbated), however the specific condition draws them to the usage of that drug.



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Blumlein 88

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What is on the list of hard drugs to legalize?
 

frogmeat69

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Sure, legalize it, but the ambulance and EMT supplying Narcan better not be free to all of the junkies that OD, and they need to pay for their needles, too.
Or make chemo and similar treatment to children born with cancer and other illnesses free, so the parents don't have to bankrupt the family trying to save their baby.
Don't understand why drug addicts that create their own problems get treated to free places to shoot up in public and free needles, and get free life saving medical care for something they brought upon themselves, but insulin costs a Type 1 diabetic a shit ton of cash to stay alive.
 

gene_stl

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Having pharmaceutical grade , sterile , accurately dosed material would save some lives.
There probably is very little heroin left on the black market. It is all the fentanyl and its' derivatives. It has a smaller therapeutic window and thus is much more dangerous.

England had an experiment with legalization and they stopped it. But the notion of sucking the profit out of it would probably move things in the correct direction.
 
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Doodski

Doodski

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Sure, legalize it, but the ambulance and EMT supplying Narcan better not be free to all of the junkies that OD, and they need to pay for their needles, too.
Or make chemo and similar treatment to children born with cancer and other illnesses free, so the parents don't have to bankrupt the family trying to save their baby.
Don't understand why drug addicts that create their own problems get treated to free places to shoot up in public and free needles, and get free life saving medical care for something they brought upon themselves, but insulin costs a Type 1 diabetic a shit ton of cash to stay alive.
Apparently the expense for policing and criminalizing the users costs more than supplying them with drugs does and it frees up resources like ambulances, police, hospitals, prisons and law courts.
 

VMAT4

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The U.S. had prohibition. When it repealed that, the U.S. soon had a drug problem. Take the profit out of the current drug problem and you'll soon have a designer drug problem. As long as there is organized crime, organized crime will find a product for people prone to addictions.

Maybe it's better the devil(s) you know. That's my 2¢.
 

Blumlein 88

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If its those drugs you list, I'd say no to making them legal. And while you can decriminalize how do you do that and also reduce how many people use these drugs?
 
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Doodski

Doodski

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If its those drugs you list, I'd say no to making them legal. And while you can decriminalize how do you do that and also reduce how many people use these drugs?
Not sure what they have planned. I suppose the medical personnel, lawyers and government will come up with something to wean the users off that crap. I say that users receiving "meds" must be enrolled in some sort of harm reduction strategy as well as address the root cause of the self medicating. That means get with the program or they receive no support.
 

antcollinet

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Yes - but then supply is limited to treatment programs. How that works in detail is given to those who are experts in treatment.
 
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Doodski

Doodski

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Yes - but then supply is limited to treatment programs.
The admin and distribution of the "meds" is apparently going to be done with vending style machines in compassion centers where people access the meds and use too.
 
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Beershaun

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Sure, legalize it, but the ambulance and EMT supplying Narcan better not be free to all of the junkies that OD, and they need to pay for their needles, too.
Or make chemo and similar treatment to children born with cancer and other illnesses free, so the parents don't have to bankrupt the family trying to save their baby.
Don't understand why drug addicts that create their own problems get treated to free places to shoot up in public and free needles, and get free life saving medical care for something they brought upon themselves, but insulin costs a Type 1 diabetic a shit ton of cash to stay alive.
I think the problems are the same for a portion of the population. The portion of drug addicts who are self medicating their chronic illnesses face the same hardship that Diabetics do and Diabetics should not have to worry about when and how they get insulin in our society. Both need medicine to survive and be a functional member of society. So yes, I'd agree we should pool our resources as a country and make drugs available by prescription for free to people who require them to survive and be a functional member of society whether it's insulin for diabetes, cancer, or Xanax etc to deal with chemical imbalance and mental illness. For the remainder of drug users who don't require them for medical reasons. I am not sure what the best approach is. I guess it depends on the outcome we want for these folks in our society.
 

andrewjohn007

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Rogan had an incredible guest by the name of Johann Hari on JRE #1250 in which they discussed the Opioid Crisis and how different countries have tackled the matter. As Hari describes the epidemic, opioid deaths are "deaths of despair" and plague certain areas much harder than others depending primarily on how the government tackles the issue. IMHO, the USA is not handling the mater as best as it could. Switzerland apparently wiped out their opioid crisis by legalizing heroine. The way Hari explains it, makes perfect sense.... Highly recommend checking out JRE #1250
 

Lambda

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Sure, legalize it, but the ambulance and EMT supplying Narcan better not be free to all of the junkies that OD, and they need to pay for their needles, too.
Or make chemo and similar treatment to children born with cancer and other illnesses free, so the parents don't have to bankrupt the family trying to save their baby.
Don't understand why drug addicts that create their own problems get treated to free places to shoot up in public and free needles, and get free life saving medical care for something they brought upon themselves, but insulin costs a Type 1 diabetic a shit ton of cash to stay alive.
It also better not be free for all of the Smoker, drinker, Fat people and of cause the unvaccinated....?
 
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Doodski

Doodski

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I guess it depends on the outcome we want for these folks in our society.
The social disorder caused by the drugs in cities is absurd. I see users right in front of Tim Hortons coffee shop with their drug paraphernalia spread out on a seating bench. They are using at a major bus stop with like 10 bus routes stopping there and hundreds of people per hour going in and out of Tim Hortons. Very brazen people or maybe they are beyond civility and caring.
 
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