Re:Too many prisons make people worse
by rorykoehler on Sunday May 28, 2017 @05:03AM
(#14433616)
I'll be the first to support the full legalisation and regulation of the recreational drugs market. Abuse of recreational drugs needs to be treated as an illness. I believe happy, healthy and fulfilled individuals don't abuse drugs. Drug abuse is a symptom of a deeper malaise in society as well as in the individual. We, as individuals, reflect our environments in our patterns and behaviours. I am also a big fan of universal basic income as it provides a buffer when needed. On top of this we need educational programs that promote upward mobility, self-reliance and adaptability in a ever changing world. IMO we should be doing the opposite of what we are in so many areas of government and policy. It's hard to know where to start. Thankfully, though it may not seem like it, we are moving in the right direction. Public awareness and consciousness is improving with each generation.
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> I'll be the first to support the full legalisation and regulation of the recreational drugs market. Abuse of recreational drugs needs to be treated as an illness.
Catch is, a person having an arrest record for drug possession isn't at all evidence of drug abuse, past or present. That's precisely why I believe criminal records shouldn't be publicly available except in certain cases.
Many should actually be, but non-violent drug offences definitely should not even be offences in the first place.
I doubt my record shows this but I've almost been arrested once for carrying an open container. I was driving a friend's car home for him. The officer made me take the breathalyzer test several times. I was not drunk.
In the end I paid the fine because it wasn't worth hiring a lawyer over (and I did have an open container in the car even if it wasn't mine).
What I fear about decriminalization is that it will become a cash cow for local governments (I have much disdain for local and state governments in general but particularly in this case because anything that boosts revenue without increasing taxes is usually seem as a good thing).