[brightlancer]

> Isn't the opposite also true?

Not PP, but the onus is always on the person or group making the affirmative claim. It _might_ be that the policy is sound but the execution is in error, but we should not _assume_ that the policy is sound.

[AnthonyMouse]

> Not PP, but the onus is always on the person or group making the affirmative claim.

But they're both making an affirmative claim. One says that legalization is better and all these addicts are an error in execution. The other says that criminalization is better and all this widespread disrespect for the law and erosion of civil liberties and mass incarceration and cartel murder squads are an error in execution.

In general the burden should be on the party who wants make something illegal.

[Aeolun]

I’m kind of of the opinion that we shouldn’t hold addicts to account for their addictions. By the time they’re addicted they’re not rational actors any more.

By the same count we don’t judge the mentally unwell and children as if they’re well-functioning adults.

[lmm]

OK, so what does that concretely mean as a policy? "Not judge", fine - does that mean no arrests, no involuntary holds, not touching them? We used to take the view that we could confine people for things that weren't their fault when there was an overwhelming public interest (e.g. people with infectious diseases).

[ali_m]

I don't think it's that simple. No one acts 100% rationally all of the time. In this respect, addicts, children, and the mentally unwell differ from the rest of us by degree - they may have diminished responsibility for their own actions, but I don't think it makes sense to try to draw a sharp line where you're either responsible for your own actions or you're not. Recovery from addiction requires assuming responsibility for one's actions.

[inferiorhuman]

  By the same count we don’t judge the mentally unwell and children
  as if they’re well-functioning adults.

Sure we do (or we did up until recently). Bill Clinton famously presided over the execution of a man missing a chunk of his brain to appear tough on crime during his presidential campaign.

[caddemon]

Children and those deemed mentally unwell in a legal sense lack various individual freedoms though. There's always some trade off.