To the surprise of no one, Oregon recriminalizes drugs. Opinions?

Changing laws to make people feel good is never a good idea. Who the people are who pushed this thing, well I can guess. But it is kind of telling to me that people claim incarceration doesn't help drug addicts. It does, temporarily. Because while they are in jail it is more difficult to use drugs and then overdose and die. Of course they can probably still get drugs in jail, but probably less. Also while they are in jail they are unable to commit crimes to support their habits.

I agree with those who push rehab instead of incarceration but I wish those two things went hand in hand, because even in court ordered rehab people can just leave the rehab if they want, yeah they might get in trouble, but they might not care about that because of their addiction.

There are different levels of drugs, and drug use. Heroin and fentanyl, crack, meth are in a different class to me than marijuana. I can support decriminalization of marijuana. But it needs to stop there. Marijuana is generally not a life destroyer like these other drugs.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Governor Tina Kotek signed the law on Monday that rolls back a 2020 voter-approved measure that saw the possession of street drugs such as heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine become a non-criminal violation, equal to that of a parking ticket.

When Oregon voters approved the landmark plan to decriminalize hard drugs four years ago, they thought that putting an end to the jailing of drug users would do good for the state and potentially spread throughout the country.

However, overdoses soared as the state struggled to fund the enhanced treatment centers at the core of the decriminalization plan and public opinion has soured on it as public drug use has become more visible because of growing homelessness. 

The state has seen a 210 percent increase in fentanyl-related deaths since the initial decriminalization bill was passed and Kotek declared a state of emergency over the fentanyl crisis in Portland in January.

So I guess their decriminalization plan included treatment centers, but that seemingly did not help.

Thoughts? Opinions? Do you guys support decriminalization after seeing how well it worked in Oregon? Or should hard drugs remain illegal?

originally posted by: Shoshanna
Opinions?

The genie is already out of the bottle.

Get out of Oregon. Get out of California.

originally posted by: AlroyFarms

originally posted by: Shoshanna
Opinions?

The genie is already out of the bottle.

Get out of Oregon. Get out of California.

Even better, find a nice foreign girl to marry and bugout to her country. Even the traditionally #hole countries are looking nicer all the time.

I think they figured all the druggies would take time to vote.

a reply to: mikell

Or they figured druggies would be great candidates to sell their ballots to a harvester.

a reply to: Shoshanna

Just another example of how democrat policies fail every time because they are destructive to civilization.

a reply to: Shoshanna

One aspect of the drug problem in Oregon is for decades it has been a haven for those that call themselves "sovereign citizens." That term means that they are not confined by any laws. For example, they need not have a properly licensed vehicle to drive a vehicle on the roads. A cardboard one of their own making is fine. That ideology has spread to some extent. The internet has many videos of such people being pulled over by the police and arrested as the person repeatedly insists that they are above any law and can "travel" on the road freely. By their reasoning, that term in the US constitution allows them to "travel" on the roads which is not the same as driving.

I am of two minds with this topic.

I am all for personal freedom(s) and that people should be able to choose what’s best for them and their body, the good and the bad. Cigarettes, alcohol, sugar all lethal when consumed in excess. Their addictive qualities make excess consumption all but inevitable for some.

It is my honest opinion the average person or the majority let’s say of people lack the ability to properly regulate their own lives. They cannot keep themselves healthy by their own means and will alone. Thats not to say they can be made into independent free thinking individuals it’s just they have never been shown or provided the tool kit to become such a person. So they are fat, and they are lazy, they are drug addicted and they poor, because they don’t have the discipline required to be successful in this society.

A wide almost unlimited range of freedom is only beneficial if the people who enjoy said freedoms have the discretion and discipline to properly manage their own homeostasis. Strong will people with the ability to undergo delayed gratification will surely thrive.

However an undisciplined person who required instant gratification will be completely unable to probably manage the unlimited freedom and will quickly drowned in the excess it offers because they won’t be able to stop.

There are of course people who can just naturally manage themselves better and I see no reason to punish them for the short comings of others.

All that said I still think there should be substances that totally and irredeemably illegal. And should carry penalties that reflect that. I think countries that offer the death penalty for drug trafficking is a good starting place.

Trafficking fentanyl, your hung.

a reply to: Shoshanna

The problem with "decriminalization" is more innocent people become victims of "criminalized" crimes than they normally would. 😬

Oh dear, they've just found out their kick back money has dropped with legalisation. Make it legal, take it out of criminal hands therefore no illegal drug dealers to be fleeced for kick back.
I keep on saying, numbers, numbers, numbers. NOT percentages. Let me throw this in, a mass upsurge? A 210% increase? Unless you get the numbers (which I can find no where) it's just BS. Example:- 5 people die of drug misuse, 5 out of 500, but then 15 people die and whoops you've got a 300% increase. THAT is how they can lie flat out, ooo sorry I mean exaggerate the information, to get any outcome they want.

a reply to: watchitburn

Its like all feel good stuff from them. It reminds me of Ned Flanders' beatnik parents on the simpsons.

a reply to: crayzeed

Oh yeah I know how they use percentages to confuse people like during the quote unquote pandemic, they would say some small town deaths were like up 100000000% but it turns out it was just 1 guy that died. Its just a small town so the percentage looks bad. People ate that stuff up though.

a reply to: Shoshanna

The only reason Oregon is doing this is because it hurts politicians.

Housing is insane, businesses are leaving so the tax base has bottomed out.

Yeah, I live in Oregon.

a reply to: Athetos

You are so right about lack of self control. I struggle with alcohol myself but I do realize I have to be functional and have to pay my bills and go to work and do stuff everyday or I really won't like what happens. Unfortunately a lot of these what I call social consequences like homelessness don't seem to matter once you're in the black hole of addiction. I would probably be a total mess if I ever touched anything like heroin or meth so I am empathetic to the struggles.

a reply to: DBCowboy

Are all the videos true? Really? About Portland and how much homeless? Went as a kid in the 90s and thought it was pretty nice from a kid point of view and wanted to vacation there this year but picked Nevada instead. Has it changed a lot since the 90s?

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Shoshanna

Just another example of how democrat policies fail every time because they are destructive to civilization.

Just like Reagan’s selling of cocayne in our inner cities during the 80s to fund wars.
Rick Ross knows

They need the revenue that criminalizing recreational drugs provides. Otherwise, they wouldn't care.

originally posted by: watchitburn
a reply to: Shoshanna

Just another example of how democrat policies fail every time because they are destructive to civilization.

oig.justice.gov...
Here is what Ronald Reagan did to America’s ghettos in the 80s
Reagan & the CIA sold cocayne to black gamg leaders nationwide to fund illegal off the books wars. Was Reagan a democrat ?
I thought only democrats destroy society with their drug policies ?

originally posted by: Shoshanna
a reply to: DBCowboy

Are all the videos true? Really? About Portland and how much homeless? Went as a kid in the 90s and thought it was pretty nice from a kid point of view and wanted to vacation there this year but picked Nevada instead. Has it changed a lot since the 90s?

It's just a little bettter than San Francisco.

a reply to: xuenchen

Criminalized crimes huh? Sounds like breaking the law with extra steps.