casual drug use

I knew sailors who used heron and who knows what else before the zero tolerance policy went into effect.

I support zero tolerance for military and first responders. If you are a 9 to 5er, why should anyone care what you do on your off time.


http://reason.com/blog/2013/11/23/trey- ... e-us-ask-w

"Given that two states have already legalized pot beyond the medical variety (with more sure to follow), it's a question whose time has come. We should be focused less on what sorts of intoxicants people use and more on how they act when under the influence. Cocaine and even heroin are not "addictive" in any obvious way. Most people who try them never try them again and even those who use regularly are not enslaved by them. A landmark study of returning Vietnam vets in the early '70s found that even heroin addicts mostly dropped their habits when they came back stateside, even though they were able to find junk easily and many tried it after coming home without falling back into dependency:

As my Reason colleague Jacob Sullum has documented, such take-it-or-leave-it findings are common in drug research. In his 2004 book Saying Yes and other places, he’s detailed work in which researchers find a surprising range among heroin users, including a study that concluded, “It seems possible for young people from a number of different backgrounds, family patterns and educational abilities to use heroin occasionally without becoming addicted.”...

And if it stayed casual it shouldn't be a problem for anyone. But for some or even many it doesn't.

How do they stack up with useage compared to prescription meds or alcohol?

Looking at pending court cases in jeffco or parkco or other judicial districts for traffic violations there are quite a few. What I don't get though is how many times the court gives them a pass with a slap on wrist and nothing more. Just how many times does someone have to come in with repeat offenses before the judges and D.A. finally take notice.

RidgeWay wrote: Looking at pending court cases in jeffco or parkco or other judicial districts for traffic violations there are quite a few. What I don't get though is how many times the court gives them a pass with a slap on wrist and nothing more. Just how many times does someone have to come in with repeat offenses before the judges and D.A. finally take notice.

The courts are courts of law, not courts of justice. So often it boils down to the lawyers the offenders can afford and how well the lawyers can twist the meaning of the law and/or work out a plea bargain. The days of an eye for and eye are long gone.

Why is over half of our prison population (50.1%) made up of drug offenders? Has it stemmed drug use and abuse at all? It stands to reason that we need to take a fresh look at how we deal with the drug problem as a society and quit just shipping people off to jail.

towermonkey wrote: Why is over half of our prison population (50.1%) made up of drug offenders? Has it stemmed drug use and abuse at all? It stands to reason that we need to take a fresh look at how we deal with the drug problem as a society and quit just shipping people off to jail.

One cynical but IMO credible POV is that the legal and prison systems make large amounts of money and grease the appropriate law makers.

I have read that the California referendum to decriminalize was opposed by the illegal pot growers.

From my cynical pov, follow the money is a good rule of thumb.

Why hasn't the Holder Justice department embraced legalization?

Blazer Bob wrote: ..even heroin are not "addictive" in any obvious way. Most people who try them never try them again and even those who use regularly are not enslaved by them..”...

That's BS, Bob. Heroin is highly addictive. Although the idea that you use it once and are then 'hooked' is mostly untrue, it is very difficult to break a dependency on it. I had a friend tell me years ago that it was the most unbelievable high he ever had. Thankfully, he did not use it again that we know of. I've seen some research that suggests about a 25% addiction rate for heroin, and it can be physically devastating especially when mixed with other drugs.

The list of actors, musicians, artists, etc who have died from OD's related to heroin use is staggering. To make a case for drug legalization is one thing, to suggest that heroin isn't addictive or dangerous is foolish nonsense at best, a blatant lie at worst.

OmniScience wrote:

Blazer Bob wrote: ..even heroin are not "addictive" in any obvious way. Most people who try them never try them again and even those who use regularly are not enslaved by them..”...

That's BS, Bob. Heroin is highly addictive. Although the idea that you use it once and are then 'hooked' is mostly untrue, it is very difficult to break a dependency on it. I had a friend tell me years ago that it was the most unbelievable high he ever had. Thankfully, he did not use it again that we know of. I've seen some research that suggests about a 25% addiction rate for heroin, and it can be physically devastating especially when mixed with other drugs.

The list of actors, musicians, artists, etc who have died from OD's related to heroin use is staggering. To make a case for drug legalization is one thing, to suggest that heroin isn't addictive or dangerous is foolish nonsense at best, a blatant lie at worst.

I did not think I was making that case. I said I knew casual users. I did.

Irony? Maybe the drug war has been won. More people die from prescription drug overdoses than illegal drugs.
The drug was is funny to me because it is interesting to see what goes in and out as legal and fashionable.
For example, for the longest time amphetamine use was acceptable, everyone from soldiers to housewives to baseball players used it legally. Now it it a great evil and they force people to make it out of really nasty crap.
Now pain control is legal and good so they hand out oxycontin like candy.