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by m0zg 2050 days ago
> A great number of people can and have used

And a great number of people have died because of this use. I mean, are you really going to argue that it is possible to have a "normal" life and take heroin or meth at the same time? I'm not saying taking heroin should be a felony, but selling it definitely should.
3 comments
reassembled 2050 days ago
I had a relatively normal life, working a job in tech and keeping up a stable relationship with my girlfriend while also using heroin every day. Of course I would rather have not been going down to the Mission every morning to procure the stuff. The lifestyle that accompanied the illicit use was ultimately the problem for me, not the use of the substance itself.

Thousands of people are high functioning and doctor-prescribed amphetamine users (Adderall) in this country and we don't bat an eye. As soon as you call it "meth" people get weird about it.

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the_other 2050 days ago
I agree, those two in particular seem to fuck people up. We need to do something about that.

But I am going to argue that a VAST number of people take caffeine, alcohol, cocaine, MDMA, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, sugar, 2CB, DMT, ayahuasca, amphetamine and many others in a wide variety of settings with largely positive results. As such, the general trend of legislation around the world against (most) of these chemicals seems grossly at odds with on-the-ground opinion and practice.

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m0zg 2050 days ago
I'm in full agreement with you there. I see no reason to jail people for taking non-addictive psychoactive substances. I voted to legalize pot in my state (measure did pass), even though I'm not a user myself. IMO, pot, for example, is strictly better than alcohol from both health and addiction standpoint. I think that not only should we allow pot, we should allow people to grow it for their own consumption. As to other non-addictive drugs, I'll defer to those who have studied them. LSD, for example, is known to sometimes fuck people up in its own ways, and it is generally not safe to take without supervision.
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hospadar 2050 days ago
> I'm not saying taking heroin should be a felony, but selling it definitely should

And in Oregon, it still is, presumably because the people agree with you?

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m0zg 2049 days ago
Yes. People in the thread suggest it should be "cheap" and "available at Walgreens".
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