A Little Help Please!!!

tisha2 · Post by **tisha2** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 9:37 pm

wow. super-props to all y'all. i am mighty impressed to know you've all been down that road and turned the fuck around and came back.

never took that turn, meself. but watched a few friends go there and they didn't come back.

hey eric! i was the one with the bullhorn out front of Cocomo at Decom! hi!

but, baby - there is NO reason to keep meth around. i think the way to wrap yer head around the difference is the way people react to it. folks have historically proven safe n sane use of acid, marijuana - but meth just freakin' eats you alive.

Rabbi Dali Rick · Post by **Rabbi Dali Rick** » Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:38 pm

Been there, done that, then quit it. Was a two pack a day smoker when I quit cold turkey in '84, I had been smoking since I was 12. Took up coke back when it was truly "recreational" that turned into a two ounce a week nightmare in Hollywood. Also a cold turkey decision, remind me to tell you the story sometime.

Yes like the man said" A man's got to know his limitations."

can't sit still wrote:I have it on good authority that "felching" rots your teeth extra fast.

"giving creedence to the habit of brushing and flossing after every meal"

doubly,

the rebbi

Post by **Eric** » Sat Nov 26, 2005 12:04 am

tisha2 wrote:hey eric! i was the one with the bullhorn out front of Cocomo at Decom! hi!

Hey Sweetie!
Nice to know you're floating around in here!

but, baby - there is NO reason to keep meth around. i think the way to wrap yer head around the difference is the way people react to it. folks have historically proven safe n sane use of acid, marijuana - but meth just freakin' eats you alive.

I wish it was that simple to me. This is long winded.

I know & have seen way too closely how evil meth is.
My conflict is this: I'm opposed to making drugs illegal as that creates more problems than legalizing it.
Drugs illegal=rampant crime in poor neighborhoods, out of whack prisons, police as parents instead of protecting us from violent crime (much of which is currently caused by drugs being illegal...), drugs being manufactured in completely unsanitary conditions (it's not the heroin itself that rots peoples bodies, it's mostly the crap passed though shared needles)
Drugs legal=taxed & regulated as per the liquor industry (not perfect, but better than no regulation other than prohibition), billions of dollars a year saved since they're not being wasted on an unwinable "war on drugs", drug manfacture regulated, users being able to judge their doses accurately (again, as per alchohol)

Where my problem with meth falls is that I know it has no useful value, and I loath it passionately.

However, hypothetically if other drugs were legalized and it wasn't, that in itself would make it attractive to some people ("oooh, I want the shit the government doesn't want me to have")

Legalizing it (once again- in the situation that all drugs are legalized)would remove some of the worst aspects other than the addiction itself- it would clean up the manufacturing and remove the violence from the supply chain.

In itself legalization wouldn't help people recover from their addiction, but removing the "illegal" stigma from it (and all drugs) would let people start to recognise their addictions for what they are, much like addiction to alchohol & even cigarettes are now recognized. It would make the treatment aspect have at least a chance.

My thoughts on this are still forming, and reasoned discussion is encouraged.

This thread has been incredibly informative.

Magikal · Post by **Magikal** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:55 am

Hm. Have given the whole thing a lot of thot. I, personally, have been VERY choosy as to which drugs I would "do", but then, I had a great live-in example, as my father died of cirrocis(sp?). 'Nuff sed.

But I would also favor legalization, with this proviso: you would have to take a training course to get your "drug license". You would have to watch video from a psych ward as someone bounced off the walls in withdrawal, pics of all the things you have described (puss-filled sores, rotten teeth, etc. etc. ad nauseum). Then, finally, having a former addict talk to the class, trying to convince them this isn't the way they want to go. Then, if you still want to do it, you would at least go into it with your eyes open.

Would it really work? Prolly not. Who among us has not thought at some time, "Well, that won't happen to me." But at least you would have tried, and we wouldn't have the destructive and futile "war on drugs". I think England provides heroin to users. Ultimately, there would still be a lot of destroyed lives, but you could (hopefully) at least minimize the carnage.

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Mon Nov 28, 2005 12:02 pm

Wow. I have to say that I tend to side with the legalization side of the house. I have no personal experience with meth or methheads (not that I know of anyway), but it does seem like it's the worst that's been seen in a long time. Glad to hear that both BBS and OR got out alive.

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 9:56 am

Free (or cheap) and effective treatment to anyone who asks has got to be a cornerstone of any rational drug policy.

Magikal · Post by **Magikal** » Thu Dec 01, 2005 11:40 am

theCryptofishist wrote:Free (or cheap) and effective treatment to anyone who asks has got to be a cornerstone of any rational drug policy.

Bingo! Brilliant point, should have thought of it myself. Yes, if we allow people to wend down that road, there should be some mechanism for them to (hopefully) make their way back.

Being a capitalist, I would suggest treatment be paid for by a surcharge on the drugs themselves. It would still be lots cheaper than the drugs are now, while the drugs would still be more pure.

I am convinced any such program must be self-sustaining to last. People (read: voters) resent footing the bill for someone else's partying. Or getting clean.

A Little Help Please!!!

Who Dat When I Say Who Dat.....