I'm for full legalization of the drugs--sufficiently addictive stuff may be prescription only, but the law must explicitly state that addiction is a valid reason for a prescription. I believe the drug laws cause far more harm than the drugs. I'm saying Portugal is a step in the right direction.The drugs will do the damage whether or not they have a safe injection site. Your "solution" of "treatment" is like trying to solve hunger by saying "eat".These drugs cause health problems which will lead the addicts to the hospital, anyway. Meth destroys the heart. Unclear how we save money by keeping addicts on drugs? How is an addict going to hold down a job or pay rent? Yet, taxpayers on hook to pay for all these services; and in some places, housing. If society has a responsibility to take care of these people, then these people have a responsibility to get better.You can decriminalize without abetting drug use. A bit cynical, but seems there’s little concern in actually helping people and instead growing government programs which transfer taxpayer money to special interests.
Taxpayer money to special interests???
Safe injection sites reduce ER and hospital use amongst addicts. They save money!
I'm having trouble understanding what either you or Oleg are proposing here. It seems to me that he agrees with you in opposing safe needle sites and that both of you seem to go back and forth on what you actually favor. Oleg seems upset with the cost of the social programs to address addiction, but I suppose that is to be expected if he thinks safe needle sites are counterproductive. But you've both endorsed the Portugal model, which, from what I've read, also provides addicts with social services like counseling, medical treatment, and clean needles for injection. So that doesn't seem all that far from what these liberal-backed injection sites that you object to are all about. Do you favor the Portugal model or not? Or am I missing something here? Just saying to "starve" to addicts doesn't seem to work, since that is what the government has been doing for years without making any progress in the "war on drugs".
He's advocating a focus on treatment, I'm saying that unless the person wants to get off drugs and the reasons that drove them to drugs in the first place are dealt with that treatment doesn't work.