Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed.
I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit. Which leads to my friend being in prison periodically. Use, rob people, use, rob, finally get caught robbing and it’s back to Stayton.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either, although I’m not opposed to it.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
I realize severe alcoholism has the same impact on friends and family, but that’s another topic.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
I realize severe alcoholism has the same impact on friends and family, but that’s another topic.
Fare poont on the demand stream. As far as I can tell, this doesn't change anything for dealers.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
I realize severe alcoholism has the same impact on friends and family, but that’s another topic.
Fare poont on the demand stream. As far as I can tell, this doesn't change anything for dealers.
At worst for them, things stay the same. At best, more people use now that there isn’t a real legal deterrent against it. No downside for dealers and producers. The few people that do go to jail for possession alone now will be on the outside using, too.
Doesn’t really matter much anyhow since police forces in the cities here are getting smaller, anyhow.
2021 should be a big one for the meth and heroin trade.
Nothing is legalized except medical/clinical use of shrooms. No the usage isn’t getting normalized and the amounts won’t skyrocket. It’s still illegal to produce or sell all of these substances. The “bad hombres” will still get busted. But now the much more harmless users will be let go, and hopefully as time goes on directed to a rehab. But now they won’t be wasting police time and tax payer dollars. If these users break a law, as in b&e or a violent crime, then they still get dealt with as criminals. But now simply walking around with one of these substances by itself won’t be a reason to waste a cop’s time or the limited jail space that exists in some of these west coast cities that I have spent plenty of time in and am very aware of the drug problems. The problem has only gotten worse. It’s time to change our approach. This is level-headed thinking.
Police have been able to lower penalties and offer plea deals to charged users to help investigators by being informants to hunt down the "bad hombres". Now what's the incentive? We? want to follow Portugal's lead, but did you actually look into Portugal? Property theft and petty crimes have skyrocketed since 2001, the year it passed. All this law does is enable users to continue using. If they forced treatment, then ok, let's look at it. But it's not required. Treatment is only offered. We? already have the homeless showing up here by the bus full, now we'll get even more. Police currently don't investigate many property crimes, since they are understaffed, expect those crimes to increase here as well. I am thankful I live outside of town.
Crack is equal to or worse than meth because they need it far more often. Average number of uses to addiction is 1. I dealt with this shit for almost 30 years. Most of the ones that cleaned up did it in jail. If they managed not to do serious jail time they died from it. Heroin too. Takes a lot longer to kill unless one of the nasty diseases from needles gets ya. Angel dust? Holy shit that stuff is bad news. It's all bad news. Legal weed has spawned an entire new crime industry around itself.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
Making, distributing, and selling would only become safer if they were legalized.
While there are people who are impacted by those who use these drugs, it is not the usage itself that hurts other people.
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
Making, distributing, and selling would only become safer if they were legalized.
While there are people who are impacted by those who use these drugs, it is not the usage itself that hurts other people.
Yes, let’s completely legalize heroin and meth, tax it making it more expensive, and make it widely available. Brilliant plan.
We don’t have near enough addicts now.
I also strongly disagree with the second part of your post. I’m guessing you’re trying to make some semantical point about use versus actions while using and I don’t buy that line of thought.
I've never seen any evidence that legalization leads to normalization or increased abuse. And even if so, on the grounds of the principle that I should own my own body, there should be no legal consequences for what I put into it.
Legalizing shrooms is a big win we should all be for. Cocaine? Fuck yeah, let it snow.
Can't say the same about heroine. There's no way to enjoy that recreationally and its use has absolutely decimated communities. This will also further cripple law enforcement from being able to clean up a city that is already infested with zombie addicts as it is. Public camping and heroine use is now legal, so welcome to Portland and now we can't legally make you leave.
I've never seen any evidence that legalization leads to normalization or increased abuse. And even if so, on the grounds of the principle that I should own my own body, there should be no legal consequences for what I put into it.
You think less people will be meth and heroin addicts if it’s legalized and widely available? I’ve been in jail. Many of the people there are for crimes they committed trying to feed their habits and are mostly good people when sober. That was the one thing I actually learned from lock-up and it was a surprise. The ones who were actually were arrested for using, and not stealing or robbing to support their using, were people like with an alcohol DUI.
Put what you want into your body, I don’t care, but you make a very simplistic argument for a very complex issue.
I generally don’t think Oregonians make good governing decisions, but they nailed this. As usual the west coast is ahead of the curve.
Noted idealogue weighs in. This was not the time to push this through. Once the eviction moratorium expires Jan 1st, there will be thousands more on the streets in Oregon.
Normalizing usage of highly addictive drugs like meth, Coke, heroin and oxy will destroy current solvent families and put more on the street in addition. Clearly you haven’t spent much time in our Cities on the West Coast other than the ‘Burbs to truly believe this is a good idea.
Property crimes, burglaries and home invasions will explode. Most property crimes now aren’t prosecuted and burglary suspects are mostly released on OR to never show up in court.
Believe the people that say they wish to see it all burn down.
Why would burglaries and home invasions explode? Addicts that do that type of shit aren’t worried whether the drugs are decriminalized or not. They just want their fix.
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or not. I’ll leave that to others but thinking this will create more crime is pretty stupid.
bUT tHE WaR oN dRuGs!!!
The battle cry for every millennial that watches a shitty Vice documentary.
Guess what happens when demand becomes more than supply. The suppliers ramp up their efforts. And then you end up with more addicts. When you have more addicts, you have more crime. Crimes that currently are rarely prosecuted. In Portland proper, crime is already up almost 200% for the year. It has little to do with riot crimes as few of those are prosecuted. It has more to do with the pandemic and the Economic carnage caused.
If you're OK with innocents suffering more due to dimestore Policy, just say that. And these faery tail rehab centers that don’t exist, never will. As Marijuana receipts aren’t close enough to fund them.
Bit of a reply fail as I meant to reply to both you and The Marshall
Yes, we? definitely need more addicts as a nation.
Is what we're doing now changing any of that? Endless dump of money and pain for little result.
Shrooms aren’t that big of a deal. Natural medicine. Same as weed. I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either.
I don't want anyone doing any of those, meth in particular. But they do. My only point is, what good is locking up these people? My mind has changed dramatically on this over the last 10 years.
Most aren’t in jail for possession. Most are in jail for the crimes they commit to gain possession of either heroin or meth. I’d add crack too, but in my limited but existent experience with drugs in Oregon, crack doesn’t seem to be nearly as big a problem as are meth and heroin.
Good, let's separate victim-less crimes from the others.
I disagree on meth and heroin use being victimless crimes. Plenty of victims involved in making, distributing, and selling them, and many addicts have families and friends impacted by their use.
I realize severe alcoholism has the same impact on friends and family, but that’s another topic.
Fare poont on the demand stream. As far as I can tell, this doesn't change anything for dealers.
At worst for them, things stay the same. At best, more people use now that there isn’t a real legal deterrent against it. No downside for dealers and producers. The few people that do go to jail for possession alone now will be on the outside using, too.
Doesn’t really matter much anyhow since police forces in the cities here are getting smaller, anyhow.
2021 should be a big one for the meth and heroin trade.
2021 will be a big year for the drug trade like it is every other year.
I’m all for putting dealers away but decriminalizing small amounts won’t do any harm. I don’t think it will make a negative difference.
Comments
I’ve seen one of my best friends from college have his life ruined by meth and I’m extremely biased against it. There are zero positive results using meth. I can’t imagine a life that ever gets better by starting meth. Which then leads to crimes to support the habit. Which leads to my friend being in prison periodically. Use, rob people, use, rob, finally get caught robbing and it’s back to Stayton.
I don’t have any real experience with heroin, so I won’t comment on it other than recovering addicts say it’s a horrible drug to need and the withdrawal sickness can make death feel like a better option.
Having done cocaine recreationally in my early 20s, it’s not really that big a deal to me and it’s not really physically addictive but I don’t see an upside to decriminalizing it, either, although I’m not opposed to it.
I realize severe alcoholism has the same impact on friends and family, but that’s another topic.
Doesn’t really matter much anyhow since police forces in the cities here are getting smaller, anyhow.
2021 should be a big one for the meth and heroin trade.
While there are people who are impacted by those who use these drugs, it is not the usage itself that hurts other people.
We don’t have near enough addicts now.
I also strongly disagree with the second part of your post. I’m guessing you’re trying to make some semantical point about use versus actions while using and I don’t buy that line of thought.
Can't say the same about heroine. There's no way to enjoy that recreationally and its use has absolutely decimated communities. This will also further cripple law enforcement from being able to clean up a city that is already infested with zombie addicts as it is. Public camping and heroine use is now legal, so welcome to Portland and now we can't legally make you leave.
Put what you want into your body, I don’t care, but you make a very simplistic argument for a very complex issue.
I’m all for putting dealers away but decriminalizing small amounts won’t do any harm. I don’t think it will make a negative difference.