Reply to Oregon's drug decriminalization failure

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]There have always been a subset of people who, for whatever reason, just can’t function responsibly in society and most of them have no desire to do so. You just can’t help people who don’t want the be helped. [/quote]

The problem is addicts. No one who is physiologically dependent on a substance - whether its alcohol or fentanyl or meth - can think rationally. Avoiding the abject misery of withdrawal is what guides their lives. Not reason. Not their well-being. Not their community. Nothing. They need their hit and they need it now and they'll do anything to get it. No one wants to live like that. But addiction takes hold and it's an awful thing.

Progressives, unfortunately, have enabled the downward cycle of so many hundreds of thousands of people in cities across the country. Effectively legalizing fentanyl and tranq and other hard drugs has been disastrous, both for cities like Portland and SF as well as for the addicts themselves. Drug courts worked. It takes anywhere from three months to a year for a brain to heal from addiction. Until then, an addict is incapable of thinking clearly and calmly. Drug courts gave addicts two options - jail or treatment. But one way or another, they are going to detox. They can do it the hard way or the easy way. But those are the only options.

It gave addicts a chance. And it gives communities a respite from the depressing mayhem that active addiction causes. More policing is better for the addicts. Tougher judges is better for the addicts. It gets them off the streets, where they will die anyway. Progressives have completely lost the plot. The left is very much a cause of the blight and sadness that have beset so many communities.    [/quote]

You didn’t read the article. It clearly stated that decriminalizing didn’t cause the problem. There were other factors that caused it.

Stop blaming the progressive left for this. The right votes down any kind of healthcare, subsidized housing, or social program. The right turns their backs to folks in need and actively seeks to hurt people with their legislation.[/quote]

It's not that cut and dry. The article and podcast did state the treatment centers portion didn't materialize fully, but that doesn't mean decriminalization did not cause or exacerbate the problem, because it did.

Again, if you listen to the podcast, they included testimony from FORMER ADDICTS who said decriminalizing drug use was harmful because getting arrested and going to jail was the deterrent and kick in the butt they needed kick their habit.

The reality is that both the criminal justice response and the healthcare response don't fully work. Getting locked up and going to jail works to deter or dissuade some people from drug use but not everyone. Getting into a treatment center/program works to deter or dissuade some people from drug use but not everyone.

So the reality is, there are only imperfect solutions on the table. And removing one of those imperfect solutions, which is the criminalization of drugs, definitely made the situation worse. Especially since the treatment alternative was woefully unprepared to fill the gap cause by decriminalization.[/quote]

It shouldn’t be an either/or proposition. It takes both. Criminal enforcement is not that successful as a deterrent by itself. When they eventually are released with no long-term rehab or support system, many will return to their addictions and criminal activities to support them. Addicts need a lot of sustained assistance and support to escape their self-destructive behavior. People object to the costs of treatment and rehab programs but criminal enforcement is more expensive. [/quote]

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