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Comment by eof | Hacker News Reader

While I’m glad there is a major metro in the USA taking a compassionate approach, it is appalling and unfathomable to me that the idea of criminalizing addiction isn’t completely rejected outright by society.

The war on drugs has been beyond a failure. It has literally increased drug use (see DARE) in some of its efforts. It’s continued existence enriches some players, and exists as a mechanism for selective police enforcement (and abuse).

But you have to be a special kind of moron or bigot if in 2019 you still think we can fix a national drug problem by making desperate people’s lives worse.

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The issue is not so black and white. Intervention and interning addicts in rehab centers is a very effective program for Rhode Island. They prosecute drug crimes and misdemeanors, and offer a choice between prison or enforced rehab. Many people who go through the program say it saved their life, and they come out with no criminal record.

West coast states have similar alternative drug courts and rehab available, but they are underutilized because there is no incentive. Even non-drug misdemeanors committed by addicts are ignored.

Why do you think it is very effective in Rhode Island? Oklahoma, which I think pioneered the concept of a special drug court for forced rehab, has maybe a 10% success rate.

The big problem Seattle is experiencing with this is since its quasi legal to do drugs here, users will shoot up in all public spaces. Needles and strung out users in the library, on the playground, people living in the park. The police will eventually tell them to move along but without any consequences the problem becomes a real public nuisance. So we moved the problem into the open which might be good for users but not the general public.

>But you have to be a special kind of moron or bigot if in 2019 you still think we can fix a national drug problem by making desperate people’s lives worse.

This is literally how about half the country thinks, as evidenced by the way they vote.

I think that's a ridiculous and unsupported conclusion just based on voting choice. This hyperbole does not improve our society.

Voters are only roughly representative of the country's population.

"by making desperate people’s lives worse."

Few people talk about "making peoples worse" as the mechanism to solving the drug problem (there are, but they are not a majority).

People might disagree with solutions, but calling others morons hardly seems constructive

(btw, I'm against criminalizing addict. Though I would have CEOs of opioid Pharma shot, and opioid pushing Dr. pressed into indentured medical service - so I"m hardly a softy)

> calling others morons hardly seems constructive

> Though I would have CEOs of opioid Pharma shot, and opioid pushing Dr. pressed into indentured medical service

The duality of Hacker News

I don't see how.

Calling a person who merely holds different opinions that you a moron is not constructive.

Applying harsh, but constitutional, punishments for people that committed crimes that caused the deaths of tens of thousands a year to enrich themselves is an opinion.

One that I'm more than willing to discuss the merits of.

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