I like Jagmeet Singh. I think he is a nice guy. However, his criminally insane position on the legalization of all drugs means that I am not able to support him. At all. There is no conceivable rationalization possible for the legalization of GHB - the date rape drug. To do so would not only be stupid, it would also be evil. The war on drugs has failed in Canada simply because we never fought it. We threw out the four pillars program and turned harm reduction into harm promotion.
Throwing people in jail for the possession of pot is stupid. So is legalizing crack, meth, fentanyl and GHB. We need to shun extremism not embrace it. Are they going to legalize rape next?
Reaching pretty far there bud. Claiming that harm reduction is the reason the drug war has been lost is completely ridiculous, as all of the evidence points to the contrary. The drug war could never be won, because it is, by design, unwinnable, and is only used to jail and oppress people who by definition are usually against the establishment. Look back at comments made in confidence by Richard Nixon (the one who started the drug war) to his advisor in order to learn it's true intentions (the words 'blacks' and 'hippies' are used several times). Nobody is suggesting that we promote these drugs, that's just what you perceive the RCMP and other regional police forces to be doing. Anybody with half a brain sees that harm reduction programs help the populations of the areas in which they are instituted. Just because you don't personally see the value in allowing the lowest tier of society a reprieve in being persecuted for things that are often beyond their control (IE a mentally ill person addicted to drugs who lacks the strength and common sense to pull themselves out of a hole, should not be thrown in jail for possession.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, we should not be promoting gangsters selling substances which directly cause harm to this same population. Unfortunately, Fentanyl came almost out of left field in the sense that nobody was fully prepared for the harm it would do. I have personally lost several friends to it, and have family members who are a slave to it. Having legal access to (hopefully less powerful) opioids in a safe, regulated setting may very well help. There is no reason I can think of that GHB should be legal, (though Bill Cosby would probably shit his pants with joy and move to canada), and Jagmeet's policy is obviously flawed in the sense that a blanket decriminalization of illicit substances is too much too fast. But, the idea of harm reduction without harm promotion is something that definitely needs to be explored, one step at a time.
Vancouver has the most liberal drug promotion laws in the country. As a result, they also have the highest drug over dose rates in the country. Those two facts go hand in hand. Harm Promotion is killing people and so is our apathetic support for it.
DeleteI believe in the New York model. It worked. I was there in the /80's and saw it first hand. What we are doing now is wrong and is not working. It's time to adopt all of the four pillars not just one.
Ron, if the drug war cannot be won, then, logically, it should never have started in the first place. Meaning, historically, drug abuse should be rampant throughout history.
DeleteYes, there is no evidence of this in the least.
Historically there are only very rare and isolated references to drug use, let alone abuse (ie Viking berserkers potentially using hallucinogens; Muslims using substances for assassins). In fact, they are so rare, they are shocking - hence why they are noted, as they are so isolated.
Now, there is the case of drug abuse by Chinese - opium. To understand that historical anomaly we have to see what is/was unique about China at the time. The unique aspect was the cultural beliefs; these are directly related to religious beliefs.
So, what has changed in Western society to allow the current drug crisis?
Change that back and you can easily win the war. Continue on this current path and the degeneracy will put an end to itself.
Self-destructive behaviour meeting it's logical end.
Opposing evil is always a moral obligation. Unfortunately, England was on the wrong side of the opium war in China and profited from poising that country with drugs just like the CIA is on the wrong side of the war on drugs today. Opposing racist misconceptions is also a moral obligation.
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