An Interesting Take on BLM

[kandrathe]

I think you need to go waaaaaaaaay back into history to see where demonizing drugs came from (hint, it goes at least back to the mid-late 19th century). Originally it started in the US just after the rail road building craze when Chinese workers brought opium and the like to the US and it started being used by more than just the Chinese workers. As the usage spread throughout the US populous (all races were effected), the government stepped in and started cracking down on the minorities first (whites were not being arrested and jailed for drug use). This did eventually change over time, but it wasn't until the prohibition era when everyone was being arrested (so whites were allowed to use drugs for around 50 years where minorities were being arrested for about 40 of those years).

Now, more recently, some state governments and DC (Feds are still being blind to the tax bonanza available if some drugs were legailzed) have started to legalize marijuana. Slowly the politicians are starting to see the value of legalizing some drugs because of the taxes they can get. IMO, the best thing to do would be to legalize drugs, tax them heavily (like what happens with cigarettes, cigars, and alcohol), set very stringent under influence laws, heavily educate on the effects of the drugs, make addiction counselling more available, and several things would change. The govenrment would have a new tax resource, you'd have less violent crime involved in the drug trade, and a the number of people put in prison would drop as well (which lowers costs there as well).

Also, we need to have a comorbidity social service path for addiction, mental health and homelessness. Most shelter issues in the USA rejecting homeless, other than being full, is they don't allow users or high people in shelters. Also, they need free secure storage areas to keep your stuff. Once the addicts get sober, you can identify the ones with mental illnesses. I've heard of some places that help people with their meds.

I don't know how it is now. I was homeless for awhile when I was 19, like in the early 80's. But, being a country boy, I was pretty used to outdoor living and survival. I found a small woodland about a mile from my work (also home to a rogue marijuana farm), and met many interesting people. I could shower at work.

I like how Portugal is moving on legalizing and keeping addiction rates lower.