[proc0]

> “We’ve spent the last 50 years trying to arrest our way out of this and it’s clearly not working. The conditions on the streets are getting worse, the drugs are becoming more dangerous and the health of the community is much, much worse with increased policing.”

So it clearly hasn't worked, but now it's getting worse. Maybe thinking police was meant to solve the problem is the wrong perspective. Regardless of initial motives for using police this way, maybe police was just preventing the problem from getting bigger. Now that those "barriers" are down, there is effectively no downside for trying out that lifestyle. I'm just saying there is a hidden factor at the root of the issue, which the state has not been able to find yet. At this point I'm wondering what if this problem is a societal problem that can only be fixed by the people and not the state.

[Lacerda69]

Yes the problem is illegality. As long as mafia can make trillions of this shit nothing will get better.

The solution is not more police.

>no downside for trying out that lifestyle

Is that a joke? you know that the average addict "lifestyle" is literally hell

[proc0]

I'm not talking about the side effects of the drug, just the obstacles and risks associated with going after that kind of life. I'm also not saying the obstacles are good, but rather that we should be a little more careful in removing them without a clear picture of what to do next.

[realjhol]

OK... so you have no solution then. Maybe sit down an let someone else try to fix this mess.

[Lacerda69]

the solution is legalisation if that was not clear from my post.

[realjhol]

Heroin, fentanyl, methamphetamine and even cannabis are mind destroying substances. You can't be seriously proposing the government legalise these things as a solution to homelessness?

People respond to incentives. If you make something more available you will get more of it. Every. Single. Time.

[aeternum]

It's worth looking at what has worked in other countries, and there seem to be two solutions:

1) Go the Singapore/China route and make the penalty for both use and dealing extremely harsh. Often execution.

2) Go the Canada/Nordic country route and implement free injection clinics. Undercut the dealers with safe free or low cost drugs in return for counseling.

The evidence seems to suggest that DEA type enforcement where you simply seize drugs and lock up the dealers for 10-20 years is completely ineffective. It's like running a lottery where there's an immense payout, but also a small chance of going to prison for awhile. People are still going to play.

[proc0]

I'm definitely on #2, although it should be clear that abusing the substances should have consequences of some kind to serve a deterrent. Not sure how that looks but protecting people from falling into addiction is necessary because after addiction it's hard to help someone who seemingly wants to continue on an obviously destructive path. Maybe alcohol addiction could be first since it's already legal.

[rswskg]

Singapore has a tiny border to police.

China is...well, China.