But I'm not quite sure what we should do about drugs, if anything. It's easy to write off adults for making poor choices, but many drugs are highly addictive and addiction often starts with children.
I can't say I'd be happy about a 7-11 selling heroin or meth.
But doesn’t 7-11 already sell alcohol, and even in potentially lethal amounts?
Offer drug treatment and rehab options for those who want to quit. Most people absolutely do not want to be addicts because addiction makes their lives miserable. It is incredibly expensive to seek treatment for drug addiction in this country, and there is a shortage of beds and caregivers relative to the number of people currently seeking treatment in the US.
> I can't say I'd be happy about a 7-11 selling heroin or meth.
That's hyperbole, but government funded clinics that supply people with cheap and uncut drugs, and a place to do them, does a lot for harm reduction in the countries with such programs.
While no one is advocating for that, but it used to be like that, in that you could go to a drug store and get opioids and what not. Coca-cola used to have cocaine in it, and so on.
In the past we were better off than today. People were not shooting up in the streets, yet heroin was readily available. The past is not the ideal path forward. We can do better than the past, and we can certainly do better than today.
A middle ground needs to be found (a global maxima) between de-regulation and over-regulation. I personally think having to take a test so you're an informed consumer is an ideal amount of regulation, but others might disagree.