[cjwilliams]

I agree with the sentiment and think that legalizing drugs like psilocybin is a positive step. But I have learned from seeing the consequences of drugs like fentanyl and meth that some substances are too dangerous and addictive to be available to the public. And in practice, cities don't have enough resources to deal with the consequences associated with them that you've listed. It is not practical to allow the use of drugs that consistently drive people to lives of crime and dependence. Often lives are damaged irreparably and the societal costs are incalculable, but emergency bills and social services can alone be staggering high.

[monocasa]

But drugs like fentanyl and meth are still available to the general public despite being illegal. So the question instead is do the practical effects of illegality help society, and that's not at all clear.

[cjwilliams]

I think if you look at areas that try to restrict the supply of these dangerous drug options you will find that that they are less available and expensive. When you look at areas like Portland/West Coast of US, you see that with increasing availability there are lots of associated problems. Perhaps there needs to be institutionally provided drug alternatives for those who have already become addicted, but id argue its very clear that lowering barriers to use has clear negative impacts.

[monocasa]

I'm not sure that's the case. Meth and heroin was plenty cheap and plenty available in the deep south, and it's not like they're known for being soft on drug crimes down there.

[cjwilliams]

Availability is more than just price. In the deep south its more difficult to buy/sell and use these drugs in public than it is in portland.

[monocasa]

I'm mean, I'm from the deep south. They have a much larger issue with hard drugs than the west coast does. The drugs are just as available despite the increased enforcement.

Drugs have won the war on drugs.

[seanw444]

And many people are too afraid to get help because of the potential consequences.

[Wohlf]

I no longer believe this after Oregon decriminalized drugs, there are no consequences and people still do not seek out help.

[monocasa]

It takes time to see results. For instance it took a few years after Portugal decriminalized all drugs before their program really hit it's stride. There's a lot of societal infrastructure that needs to be dismantled and reconstructed for the new system and that takes time.

[htag]

Would drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine be as popular if the population had as easy access to less dangerous/harmful alternatives like morphine or methylphenidate?