This Should be the Focus, not Guns

Having had close contact with someone who is a junkie addicted to heroin it is a very tough subject to argue points on both sides. Ultimately I believe in the full legalization of drugs as we can't stop people from doing something they really want to do. It has never worked in the past and it is not going to work in the future either. I believe in punishment for what you do while on or trying to get the drugs like stealing, killing and any bodily harm you cause someone while under the influence. There are people out there who do what a lot of people would consider hard drugs and show up to work 5 days a week and don't hurt anyone. I know the opposition to legalization will say "but not everyone can handle it and we need to keep it away from our kids". But when you really look at that argument doesn't it sound and feel a lot like a gun grabber saying that you can't have this gun because others can't handle it. Ultimately it is only the choice of the individual as to what they want to input into their body not anyone else. I can say from experience that my father is a true winner and has almost killed himself 3-4 times now because he was messed up but no amount of legislation or war on drugs is going to stop him I can assure you of this.
 
Having had close contact with someone who is a junkie addicted to heroin it is a very tough subject to argue points on both sides. Ultimately I believe in the full legalization of drugs as we can't stop people from doing something they really want to do. It has never worked in the past and it is not going to work in the future either. I believe in punishment for what you do while on or trying to get the drugs like stealing, killing and any bodily harm you cause someone while under the influence. There are people out there who do what a lot of people would consider hard drugs and show up to work 5 days a week and don't hurt anyone. I know the opposition to legalization will say "but not everyone can handle it and we need to keep it away from our kids". But when you really look at that argument doesn't it sound and feel a lot like a gun grabber saying that you can't have this gun because others can't handle it. Ultimately it is only the choice of the individual as to what they want to input into their body not anyone else. I can say from experience that my father is a true winner and has almost killed himself 3-4 times now because he was messed up but no amount of legislation or war on drugs is going to stop him I can assure you of this.

Probably the most honest and thought out comment I've seen on this subject. I'd like to ask your opinion though.......I'm trying to decide to what level drug abuse "hurts others" to come up with a conclusion on my opinion on legalization. Do you think an addict that makes the choice to use drugs that ends up on welfare due to addiction is causing financial hardship on others due to the increased tax burden? Its a serious inquiry.......and I'll value your thoughts as you have personal experience with the topic.
THanks
 
Probably the most honest and thought out comment I've seen on this subject. I'd like to ask your opinion though.......I'm trying to decide to what level drug abuse "hurts others" to come up with a conclusion on my opinion on legalization. Do you think an addict that makes the choice to use drugs that ends up on welfare due to addiction is causing financial hardship on others due to the increased tax burden? Its a serious inquiry.......and I'll value your thoughts as you have personal experience with the topic.
THanks
Yes there is an increased burden on other if they end up on welfare absolutely. Ending the welfare system as it is set up right now is also a must but not completely related as people who have no addiction problem still end up on welfare also. From what I have seen is 10 years of trying to get through to my Father and there has been little result from the effort. You will see a spark of what you think is progress when someone detoxes and has what I call the "god high". This is what happens in the scenarios I have dealt with where immediately following the detox you hear things like "I realize what I have to do now" or " I will never put you through that again". My father lost all of his guns when we first realized what he was doing. He was in the middle of a stuper and he was sitting in his truck at the apartment he was at. He for what ever reason had his 357 on his lap and nodded off them "bang". He put a round through his thigh severing his femoral artery and taking a chunk of his femur with it. He nearly bled out before they got him to the hospital and this was thanksgiving morning. He recovered was detoxed said he was never going back and by the time Christmas came around he had wrapped his bike around a tree at 55 MPH drunk. So I have seen that no for of reason or legislation is going to fix a person who is hell bent on altering their mind from the mild weed to the heaviest highs of base hits or heroin. Doing drugs is not a victimless crime but I would never expect any of you to have to pay for what my father has done to himself. That is the sole responsibility of the person who is doing the deed. I can tell you right now in MA that my father and his girlfriend are in government housing and she gets disability and other government benefits to get messed up all day and that is simply not right.
 
Yes there is an increased burden on other if they end up on welfare absolutely. Ending the welfare system as it is set up right now is also a must but not completely related as people who have no addiction problem still end up on welfare also. From what I have seen is 10 years of trying to get through to my Father and there has been little result from the effort. You will see a spark of what you think is progress when someone detoxes and has what I call the "god high". This is what happens in the scenarios I have dealt with where immediately following the detox you hear things like "I realize what I have to do now" or " I will never put you through that again". My father lost all of his guns when we first realized what he was doing. He was in the middle of a stuper and he was sitting in his truck at the apartment he was at. He for what ever reason had his 357 on his lap and nodded off them "bang". He put a round through his thigh severing his femoral artery and taking a chunk of his femur with it. He nearly bled out before they got him to the hospital and this was thanksgiving morning. He recovered was detoxed said he was never going back and by the time Christmas came around he had wrapped his bike around a tree at 55 MPH drunk. So I have seen that no for of reason or legislation is going to fix a person who is hell bent on altering their mind from the mild weed to the heaviest highs of base hits or heroin. Doing drugs is not a victimless crime but I would never expect any of you to have to pay for what my father has done to himself. That is the sole responsibility of the person who is doing the deed. I can tell you right now in MA that my father and his girlfriend are in government housing and she gets disability and other government benefits to get messed up all day and that is simply not right.


Sorry man. Hate to hear stories like that and sorry you are going through it. My dad and brother are recovering alcoholics.......but man.....nothing like what you are going through.

I personally have come a long long way from my staunch right wing conservatism of 10 years ago to understanding what true freedom means........Every day I research and read and learn I lean more and more toward the libertarian ideology. But drugs are just about my last hold up. Hearing what you and your old man are going through makes me stick to that "make it illegal" mindset just out of pure gut reaction that making drugs illegal is the right thing to do because it should stop so much suffering.......but then I start thinking about how making things illegal does not stop criminals....let alone an addict dead set on getting high. You have given me a lot to think about here and I thank you for it. Man if a guy with a father suffering from addiction thinks legalization is the way to go I need to sit up and listen.

Good luck with your dad!
 
Sorry man. Hate to hear stories like that and sorry you are going through it. My dad and brother are recovering alcoholics.......but man.....nothing like what you are going through.

I personally have come a long long way from my staunch right wing conservatism of 10 years ago to understanding what true freedom means........Every day I research and read and learn I lean more and more toward the libertarian ideology. But drugs are just about my last hold up. Hearing what you and your old man are going through makes me stick to that "make it illegal" mindset just out of pure gut reaction that making drugs illegal is the right thing to do because it should stop so much suffering.......but then I start thinking about how making things illegal does not stop criminals....let alone an addict dead set on getting high. You have given me a lot to think about here and I thank you for it. Man if a guy with a father suffering from addiction thinks legalization is the way to go I need to sit up and listen.

Good luck with your dad!
It is a difficult subject with no easy answer even "legalize it" isn't easy other than to say it. The thing that a lot of people don't see that haven't dealt with it is that some people really don't want the help. And the ones that do want it aren't so much afraid of "oh it is illegal what will happen". They are more thinking "what will my family think of me". In a lot of ways you can equate the struggles of an addict coming clean to the struggles of a gay person coming out. They both have that terrifying thought of what will they think of me, not "is what I am doing illegal or not". Judgment in this world is a very powerful thing it can kill people and it can also suppress the desire to address a difficult subject. The more people out there who judge and ridicule those who are already out in the open will only drive away those who may want to come forward, but will not make them stop doing what they are doing.
 
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Their focus is on all the wrong stuff. Focus on drugs, jobs, poverty. Etc.....know how many people go hungry daily in Ma? Guns aren't the big issue at hand but they sure do think so...

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