[scurvy]

I don't have a solution, but my point was that not all addicts are victims. For some, it's a conscious decision about choosing heroin over life (insert Trainspotting ending here).

Unless the US adopts some sort of ASBO laws, there's not much you can do about forced treatment for someone who doesn't choose treatment.

Also, you could substitute heroin here with any other equally damaging substance like alcohol and the situation wouldn't change.

[wyager]

Even if ASBO laws were effective, I'd rather have a few drug abusers than ASBO laws. I don't want the government to be able to use force against people for being "anti-social", however that happens to be defined or interpreted. I've seen some ridiculous cases of punishment for "anti-social behavior" out of the UK, including what essentially amounts to outlawing particular unsavory political beliefs.

I encourage everyone to read https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-social_behaviour_order which has a list of things the government was allowed to punish you for, including "rudeness" and "xenophobia". The most recent ASBO legislation is https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Social_Behaviour,_Crime... which I am not familiar with.

[scurvy]

This is the problem with the HackerNews libertarian streak. You're in favor of legalized drugs, prostitution, etc. But no one wants their daughter to grow up and be a crackwhore.

[gozur88]

I'd rather take the risk that my daughter would grow up to be a crack whore than leave anti-drug busybodies the kind of power they've managed to accrue.

[deelowe]

How about we just let addicts be addicts while we figure the rest out. That's certainly better than today's situation where we make extra sure we ruin their lives to, ya know, protect them from themselves.

[scurvy]

The problem is they create a wake of destruction in their path of addiction.

[toomuchtodo]

The cost of a free society.

Keep that ASBO trash on the other side of the pond.

[scurvy]

How about charging them for their public costs? If you get rescued by helicopter because you went skiing out of bounds at a resort and got lost, don't they send you a bill? How about that for people with money who abuse the system while abusing other things?

[toomuchtodo]

Like how the Japanese will send a bill to the family of someone who commits suicide on a train line?

I prefer my government to absorb the cost of human despair rather than bill for it. Don't write policy based on outliers.

[friedman23]

> absorb

You are very good at using language. The reality is that government doesn't 'absorb' anything. Other people, some of whom can't afford to, pay for it.

[jasonkostempski]

Sending the bill to the family is dumb but there's sense in sending the person responsible for damages bills. I think we already mostly do that though, they just don't always pay the bill.

[friedman23]

Because that has worked historically.

[smokeyj]

> Also, you could substitute heroin here with any other equally damaging substance

Desk jobs and fast food? As long as we have public healthcare I reserve the right to smack that bag of chips out of your chubby fingers. /end of rant