Hard News: This is bad – very bad
38 Responses
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Russell Brown, in reply to
Recreational drug users sometimes leave the impression that they don’t really care whether reform results in an increase in suffering or not.
You know, I think many recreational drug users are quite focused on reducing suffering.
I think the cannabimimetics are a a really difficult case. Ideally, no one should take them. They’re bad drugs, which makes regulation challenging. But it’s a fact that there’s a level of harm and suffering going on now that the legal-sale era never got close to.
The best I can do is to surmise that had cannabis law reform taken place eight or 10 years ago, this whole thing might not have started.
What sort of lowlife sells an addictive poison to the homeless
Criminals do.
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andin, in reply to
US CDC figures state that 500,000 people have died using prescription painkillers, opioids and heroin over the last fifteen years. Facilitating the use of such substances is not going to reduce harm
Not sure what your point is, but that paragraph seems contradictory
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WH,
You know, I think many recreational drug users are quite focused on reducing suffering. [...] I think the cannabimimetics are a really difficult case. Ideally, no one should take them. They’re bad drugs, which makes regulation challenging.
Okay. I agree that this is ultimately about health and wellbeing and I would support a set of measures aimed at minimising harm. I hope those responsible for the reform effort have a firm grasp of addiction and the neurological consequences of drug use.
I'm a little older than I once was, and I've become... more open... to the idea that recreational drugs can influence our spiritual lives. In traditions such as Rastafarianism, Vodun and Thelema, drug use is considered beneficial. Other traditions approach the subject differently and I don't see how I'd plausibly convey the balance of risks to my 18 year old self.
In any event, I enjoyed the Shleu-Shleu mix from yesterday's post.
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WH, in reply to
If it helps, I think I agree that there is no point imposing criminal penalties on those found with recreational quantities of illegal drugs (although I might support fines, confiscation and compulsory treatment orders). Similarly, measures that prevent dependent users from obtaining help are probably doing more harm than good.
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Not my problem,nothing I need to do, says Bill English;
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11894561&ref=NZH_fb
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andin, in reply to
says Bill English;
Well I’m sure his mouth was moving and words were coming out. Tho the uninformed drivel is worse than non-sensical. Just because the substance is sprayed on green vegetable matter, so smoking it becomes the method of ingestion, doesnt make it ‘synthetic cannabis’.
And his mantra of “personal responsibility’ is a hand washing exercise of criminal proportion.
Drug education isnt an answer when it is a new derivative of some kind, probably easy to make.
Why is it being sold? In a society where money has taken on godlike status there are those who will do anything to get in with their god. And that is directly the responsibility of government. Tho a pen pusher like BBB Billy would struggle to grasp such a concept. -
I've written a comment piece for RNZ: No easy fix for synthetic cannabis health emergency
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Heart of the City just a press release around businesses...apparently, their solution is to eradicate homelessness by largely increasing security. Pretty awful release in my view. Great use of my ratepayer money!
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andin, in reply to
LOCK UP THE POOR!
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Rich of Observationz, in reply to
Maybe they could help by not having their fraudulent managers taking up the scarce resources of the justice system.
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Simon Lyall, in reply to
Heart of the City just a press release around businesses...apparently, their solution is to eradicate homelessness by largely increasing security.
What do you think they should should have said? They have inner-city businesses complaining, what should they do?
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andin, in reply to
They(whoever) has carefully worded the press release to make themselves look blameless and this is an unwelcome intrusion of the wider 'world' into their part of the 'world'. Its a cunning plan that feeds their feelings of innocence with outrage at individuals who show a lack of perception of themselves and the impact their actions are having on their surroundings at the time of their "anti-social behaviour".
It plays on feelings of helplessness in the face of a perceived threat to their otherwise safe orderly world.
But what they are doing is kicking down the social order while giving the appearance of innocence, when they should (IMO) be kicking up. The homeless didnt deliberately try to be that way, it is a circumstance in which they feel powerless and are blindly lashing out or harming themselves. OTOH those in positions of influence and power have chosen to get there. And as the saying goes with power comes responsibility, and those in power are not accepting any responsibility at the moment. It seems to be a worldwide problem, but thats by the by.Its a situation thats has arisen and these situations will continue to arise until those who have the will to do something about it act. Which isnt happening!
What should they have said? Nothing, acted on the situation, given the homeless a cup of tea maybe. Show some human charity not sit in their shops bemoaning the situation. Complain loudly to Government. Just moving them along wont change anything permanently it just makes those shop owners frontage pretty. And that is not a solution. -
I guess the Police have to really want to help, or even follow up adequately:
"Had we not had higher priority incidents to attend at the time we would have gone there, but I am telling you now, the action would not have been to arrest them as the penalty is so low. It is good to know where users are and who is involved though."
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