Current Events > Is drug decimalization a bad idea?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Decriminalisation of use needs to be accompanied by decriminalisation of production and supply.

Decriminalisation should not mean unregulated. Production, supply, and use can be legislated, as they are for alcohol and tobacco.

You also have to recognize that decriminalisation isn't a magic solution. Obviously it brings its own problems. The question is: are those problems worse than a system that puts supply in the hands of ruthless, violent organized crime, and criminalises the end user?

fentanyl is a nation wide issue, it doesnt really have any correlation to decriminalization.

I havent really been in an environment where its decriminalized so i cant really say how i feel about it other than that. I do think part of decriminalization needs to have access to education and ways to get help and treatment though.

I'll also point out that decriminalisation of production, supply, and use would free up enormous resources.

If we no longer had to prosecute and incarcerate drug gangs and users, we could spend the money on education, helping people with mental health issues, homelessness, and poverty.

It only works as part of a holistic approach to societal problems.

invertedlegdrop posted...

but drug users are now more or less on their own when it comes to their addiction/ seeking treatment.

this sounds like the problem to me, not decriminalization.

PMarth2002 posted...

this sounds like the problem to me, not decriminalization.

I know Portland and Seattle have places you can go to shoot up with a nurse present to watch you. I assume there are more places like that in Oregon but I could be wrong

But three years later, with rising overdoses and delays in treatment funding, even some of the measures supporters now believe that the policy needs to be changed.

Yeah you think that might have something to do with why it's not working?

I don't gaf what they say, there's ZERO doubt it's worse than the statistics the drug war brings.

no

It's not a bad idea. Legalization may be a bad idea for certian drugs (things like meth), but decriminalizing possession and use makes sense for all drugs, and I'd even go for outright legalizing the softer ones.