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Comment by Baeocystin | Hacker News Reader

>Fallaious street wisdom backed by egos and peer pressure

That's what I am trying to get at- problems stem from earlier sources. Whether someone eventually gets hooked on something is a consequence of earlier failure. Whatever drug/habit is ultimately picked up in the aftermath is a genuine negative, which will have its own particulars. But it is not the initial causative agent. This is an important distinction to make, because otherwise we're just rearranging deck chairs instead of managing the fundamental issue.

To expand context, when considering appropriate drug policy at a governmental level I think Portugal's experience is important to study:

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/dec/05/portugals-radic...

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No, drug use isn’t consistently picked up in the aftermath of disaster. It’s often near the beginning, and lubricates destructive behavior, even pot.

Pot absolutely catalyzes issues in people’s lives. Many would be far better off not using it at all.

>It’s often near the beginning, and lubricates destructive behavior, even pot

I think we are talking past each other. I fully agree that many would be better off never using anything at all.

My point is that by the time someone gets to the point where drugs/gambling/addiction can act as a destructive catalyst, they're already well on their way to a negative future due to earlier causes.

> My point is that by the time someone gets to the point where drugs/gambling/addiction can act as a destructive catalyst, they're already well on their way to a negative future due to earlier causes.

Do you have anything at all to support this?

Sure. Start here and follow the sources. Portugal's results from their drug law shift in particular are strong evidence.

(the first bit of the linked article is, well, clearly written for the huff post. But the meat of it well worth the read)

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6506936

A child with an undeveloped mind gets stoned and is profoundly impacted by it. The act of getting into pot in the first place is the divergent event that led to the deteriorated life path in some cases. The pot use itself is a root cause for the child, and they would have been better off never having got into it at all.

As for destructive catalysts, no, not all people are well on their way to a negative future when they take up such habits. The drugs/gambling etc are the destructive behaviors that should be avoided altogether or stopped as a priority.

Considering the well documented effects of high grade pot, it’s fairly easy to see that a normal child can be profoundly impacted by pot. Their entire lives get off track after getting into weed. So, no, not all people that mess up their lives on pot were well on their way to a negative future.

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