On 3 May, 20:38, Mel Rowing wrote:
> The focus of the drug problem is the user. If there were no users of
> the substances you talk of, there would be no dealers and every square
> inch of Afghanistan could be put down to poppies and it wouldn't
> affect us one jot.
Conversely if there were no drugs there would be nothing for anyone to
be a user of.
But there are and there is and I'm afraid we are stuck with the world
as it is rather than as we would like it to be.
> As it is, liberal forces that have prevailed in this country for
> several decades now dictates that the problem should be seen as a
> medical one as opposed to one of law and criminal justice.
Policemen and prisons instead of doctors and medicine for treating the
ailments some of the less fortunate amongst us suffer from. An
interesting idea.
There are a whole range of supposedly medical problems that might be
taken out of the hands of doctors and made subject to the criminal
law. Criminalise obesity, bulemia, anorexia, tobacco smoking and a
host of other personal failings and we might just eliminate them.
> I would urge anyone who supports such an approach to look towards
> Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. These are cities where there is no "drug
> problem" and further you can enjoy a walk back to your hotel after an
> evening out without worrying.
The Asian authoritarian states aren't so successful at eliminating
drug addiction:
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/01/15/singapore.executions.reut/
> The net result is that we see druggies seen as "victims" or
> "sufferers" despite the fact that most of them seem reluctant to seek
> treatment =A0as such. Freedom of will and the exercise of it has been an
> assumption that has underpinned criminal justice and law enforcement
> for centuries provided "mens rea" can be established.
I don't think it is such a pleasant thing to be a drug addict and drug
addicts certainly are victims of and suffer from their addiction. I
certainly suffered from my addiction to tobacco many years ago and it
was not an easy thing to break it. Perhaps a sharp application of the
criminal law would have helped me along.
A powerful addiction does go beyond willpower. It takes, or at least
it took me, a superhuman amount of willpower and a lot of suffering to
stop. A psychologically weak, damaged or vulnerable person might not
be able to manage it on their own at all. I really don't think any
simplistic "pull yourself together man and use your willpower"
nonsense has much relevance in most cases of addiction.
Addiction is a medical problem and best treated with medical
solutions.
> This assumption has been under attack for a long time now and not only
> in relation to drug offences. It is a dilemma that society must
> resolve. Drug users are not a problem they are the problem.
And drug users have problems.
Since both drugs and drug users, despite our best wishes to the
contrary, actually do exist in the the real world, then real world
solutions are called for. How to solve the problem? Prison? the Birch?
Zyklon B?
I would prefer to see a more realistic, workable and humane approach.
Svenne
|