Ok, so this was an interesting argument/debate that I had with a meth head on a reddit forum, and I was wondering about the opinions of seasoned drugs users, especially those who are into the harder drugs like meth, heroin, fentanyl, crack, coke, PCP, bath salts, flakka, synthetic cannabinoids and strong opiates.
I was in a true crime reddit page cause I'm into that stuff, and somehow drugs came up and one person said "I think drug offenders should get a 2nd chance", and I said "screw 2nd chance, i think all drugs should be decriminalized for 18 and over in the privacy of your own home." Then I said "I could MAYBE see the hardest drugs like heroin, crack and meth being illegal to sell and it being a case where if you are caught taking them you are just forced to go to rehab, but even that I don't think because I feel everyone should have a right to bodily autonomy." I said that I am actually only probably against the sale of Fentanyl with the prospect of Fentanyl dealers doing some prison time but buyers only being given the chance to go to rehab. Certainly prison time for ANY drug user is not right IMO.
Then this guy comes out of nowhere and says "I'm a former meth head, and that's easy for you to say that those drugs should be legal cause you don't have to talk to the mothers of the kids who have died of Fentanyl overdoses!!"
I said "well, I'm sorry for their losses, but if the drug laws worked then they would have saved their kids lives. Obviously they do not work because they died, and the war on drugs has had COUNTLESS casualties where people's lives are ruined simply because they wanted to get high. So I am for rehab for those hard drug users who want help, but I cannot support prison for drug users. I also think that Ibogaine and drugs like that can help people, and we have seen that prohibition never works."
But this guy just got more and more pissed and insisted that I be censored for saying this and that I don't know how bad it is if I wasn't a meth head or heroin addict and that these drugs need to be illegal.
Frankly, I was quite confused to come across a hard drug user who wants drugs (even if it's just hard ones) to stay illegal. Obviously he has been through a very hard time and seen people die like he said, so he thinks we need the laws (or even stricter ones?) to supposedly prevent the overdoses and deaths he's seen. But if the drug laws worked then why would these deaths have occurred? I seriously don't think the problem is that the drug laws aren't strict enough. If people want help we need a system where anyone and everyone having a hard time with any drugs can publicly admit it without fear of being arrested so they can simply get the help they need and go to rehab. There is no benefit IMO to prison for drug users.
I don't know this guy's opinion on softer drugs like weed and psychedelics, but he just seemed totally about criminalizing drugs.
So, I left a few different poll options, but my opinion is that all drugs should be decriminalized for 18 and over in the privacy of one's own home. I think that sale of Fentanyl should possibly be illegal with buyers just needing to go to rehab. That way the heroin on the street could be cleaner and less likely to lead to overdose deaths. But this guy basically just wanted all drugs illegal.
Who do you agree with? And, especially from the perspective of hard drug users, why would a drug user want the very same drugs he had a problem with to stay illegal? How could such a person believe these laws would prevent deaths when they haven't generally done so in the past (or have they?) How can any drug user think prison is the solution for anyone suffering from drug problems?
I was in a true crime reddit page cause I'm into that stuff, and somehow drugs came up and one person said "I think drug offenders should get a 2nd chance", and I said "screw 2nd chance, i think all drugs should be decriminalized for 18 and over in the privacy of your own home." Then I said "I could MAYBE see the hardest drugs like heroin, crack and meth being illegal to sell and it being a case where if you are caught taking them you are just forced to go to rehab, but even that I don't think because I feel everyone should have a right to bodily autonomy." I said that I am actually only probably against the sale of Fentanyl with the prospect of Fentanyl dealers doing some prison time but buyers only being given the chance to go to rehab. Certainly prison time for ANY drug user is not right IMO.
Then this guy comes out of nowhere and says "I'm a former meth head, and that's easy for you to say that those drugs should be legal cause you don't have to talk to the mothers of the kids who have died of Fentanyl overdoses!!"
I said "well, I'm sorry for their losses, but if the drug laws worked then they would have saved their kids lives. Obviously they do not work because they died, and the war on drugs has had COUNTLESS casualties where people's lives are ruined simply because they wanted to get high. So I am for rehab for those hard drug users who want help, but I cannot support prison for drug users. I also think that Ibogaine and drugs like that can help people, and we have seen that prohibition never works."
But this guy just got more and more pissed and insisted that I be censored for saying this and that I don't know how bad it is if I wasn't a meth head or heroin addict and that these drugs need to be illegal.
Frankly, I was quite confused to come across a hard drug user who wants drugs (even if it's just hard ones) to stay illegal. Obviously he has been through a very hard time and seen people die like he said, so he thinks we need the laws (or even stricter ones?) to supposedly prevent the overdoses and deaths he's seen. But if the drug laws worked then why would these deaths have occurred? I seriously don't think the problem is that the drug laws aren't strict enough. If people want help we need a system where anyone and everyone having a hard time with any drugs can publicly admit it without fear of being arrested so they can simply get the help they need and go to rehab. There is no benefit IMO to prison for drug users.
I don't know this guy's opinion on softer drugs like weed and psychedelics, but he just seemed totally about criminalizing drugs.
So, I left a few different poll options, but my opinion is that all drugs should be decriminalized for 18 and over in the privacy of one's own home. I think that sale of Fentanyl should possibly be illegal with buyers just needing to go to rehab. That way the heroin on the street could be cleaner and less likely to lead to overdose deaths. But this guy basically just wanted all drugs illegal.
Who do you agree with? And, especially from the perspective of hard drug users, why would a drug user want the very same drugs he had a problem with to stay illegal? How could such a person believe these laws would prevent deaths when they haven't generally done so in the past (or have they?) How can any drug user think prison is the solution for anyone suffering from drug problems?