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Comment by throwaway2990 | Hacker News Reader

> Singapore has some barbaric laws incompatible with modern society. Many times a year, they put to death people for drug related offenses (even cannabis), almost always poor people.

Nothing to do with people being poor. Majority of those executed are foreigners coming into the country.

https://youtu.be/-PXAOZwvv04

You can argue cannabis is harmless but that’s simply not true. Most studies that look at long term usage conclude it affects the brain.

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> You can argue cannabis is harmless but that’s simply not true. Most studies that look at long term usage conclude it affects the brain.

Let's assume this is true. Nobody is saying they needn't be punished, but put them to death?

> https://youtu.be/-PXAOZwvv04

LKY says in the video: "In America they're changing their minds and sending people back to the death row." Yeah, but not for this.

> Let's assume this is true. Nobody is saying they needn't be punished, but put them to death?

There’s warning before you get off the plane. Warnings when you get off the plane. Warnings when you go through customs.

That’s not an argument for the death penalty. Are you saying that it’s ok to kill people for whatever reason as long as they’re informed?

> for whatever reason

But there's a very specific reason here, and it's easy to avoid.

No one is put to death for personal use. Only if you possess large enough quantities that makes you a dealer peddling typically peddling cannabis to large groups of people including underage kids.

I personally don't believe in death penalty and I hope it's abolished entirely. But facts needs to be stated with clarity.

Also Lee Kwan Yew is a legend. An absolute hero for bringing this country to where it is today. This is just my personal opinion, probably unpopular, but let me be free to state what I feel.

And to add - as of 2013 - laws have changed, death penalty rules are changing. Not changing fast enough, but changing. Hopefully they abolish it entirely asap.

You know what else affects the brain in a negative way? Execution.

Don’t do drugs then, simple way of avoiding both negative consequences

Nah, I can do drugs without my government executing me. It's cool, unlike murder.

> Most studies that look at long term usage conclude it affects the brain.

I take it then you're also in favour of the death penalty for alcohol consumption, distribution, and production then?

It would certainly be hypocritical if that were not the case.

Almost any type of contact sport too. Martial arts, boxing, football, all proven to cause permanent damage even when protection is worn.

Sports are virtuous, drunkenness is not.

Brain damage is virtuous to those that are probably brain damaged.

“One bad thing is too deeply rooted in society to remove, so we have to accept a different bad thing and allow it to take root?”

If that's the comment that you wish to make then by all means do so.

Adding quotes and a question mark makes it appear is if you are paraphrasing the comment that I made which I'd kindly ask you not to do as I can speak for myself and that's not what I stated.

Alcohol and tobacco are empirically worse than cannabis, which is just as rooted in society. The choices of what is legal and what isn't came down to class and politics, not medical evidence.

So yes? Acceptance, regulation and social safety nets are probably the way to go for a lot of drugs. The alternative is to indefinitely fight an unwinnable war, to perpetuate a cycle of death and murder seemingly oblivious that the fight itself and the consequences of a punitive system are the things taking most of those lives, not the drugs.

Opposition to cannabis use is deeper than “class and politics.” Its use was opposed by Islam 800 years ago. But who cares if the reason for the differential treatment is cultural rather than medical? Why do we need to normalize additional vices, on top of the ones we already have?

The war against drug use is not “unwinnable” for a disciplined society. There are many countries in the world that still manage to keep alcohol out of the hands of most people. In my home country, 95% of people report never having used alcohol or tobacco: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6349140.

95% of people will say a lot of things when they have a gun pointed to their head.

There is no gun to anyone’s head—in particular, tobacco use is neither illegal nor considered immoral, but people don’t smoke anyway. I know it shocks Americans to learn that people can exercise self control and refrain from vices.

I'm not an American, but Australian.

if harmful/harmless were the real test, the government would ban alcohol. But that’s not the real reason. Just like drug laws everywhere, it’s more about controlling a certain demographic of the population (i.e. poor people)

The fact that people in singapore still equate marijuana use to “harmful” “mind altering” “bad drugs” becomes more and more ridiculous as it gets legalized elsewhere. We’ll see what happens with thailand. As if for some reason asians can’t be allowed marijuana while it’s fine for white people.

They ban you drinking in public places. People used to drink on the bridge at Clark quay but that’s banned now. There’s less out of control people there now.

Alcohol can only be purchased during certain hours.

but alcohol actually kills people, unlike weed. and causes actual long-term damage, physical dependence, etc. just admit that the reason your country permits alcohol and executes weed smugglers is because alcohol is part of your culture and weed isn't.

Weed has long term damage. It’s easy to make alcohol at home. It’s not easy to grow weed at home. But keep trying.

Literally everything "affects the brain"

Do you drink coffee?

In typical dang authoritarian fashion I’m rate limited because discussion and opinions are censored on HN.

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