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03/07/2011 03:09:42 PM · #1 |
For the first time in my entire life I launched a letter off to a public official in response to policies they are trying to inflict on the general population. Though, mainly I was bitching about his apparent lack of anything remotely resembling logic in the new set of laws he is trying to get passed in the state:
In short: To fight gang violence and the proliferation of drugs in WA State the DA wants to increase pharmaceutical and doctor oversight/punishment for those who are addicted/abusing prescription drugs in the state.
My first argument is simple. How in the blank does this proposed law do anything about gang violence. None that I can see.
My second argument is that people who are addicted to substances (and as a recovering addict I know how this is) are going to get the stuff they "need" regardless of consequences, so if you begin pushing prescription drug users out of the pharmacies they will get their "fix" on the streets, thus amplifying the gang/money/drug problems dramatically.
These kind of thinly veiled "War on Drugs but really War to keep up Law Enforcement Profits" laws are getting ridiculous
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03/07/2011 03:25:34 PM · #2 |
| I believe it will be hard for you to make a rational and intelligent argument when you use the word retard. |
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03/07/2011 03:29:24 PM · #3 |
Ya this is the sort of kneejerk policy that insures that more of our population is living with pain, and more of our population has to break the law to get the medications they need, and that our doctors have to risk going to jail or losing their licence if they give out the level of medication they feel their patients need.
A few years ago as my father was a few weeks away from death he was denied a refill on his Codeine that seemed to be the only thing that dealt with his pain. He was offered Vicodin which did nothing for him besides mess up his digestion but was told he could not have the drug that was effective for fear of his becoming addicted. Fortunately a friend was willing to write me a prescription for Codeine which I could give to my father, but the policy put me and my doctor friend on the wrong side of the law.
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03/07/2011 03:42:56 PM · #4 |
Yeah, those bedridden terminally ill addicts are really a danger to society. :-(
Opiate addiction is less harmful to the body than tobacco, alcohol, and any number of prescription drugs.   
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03/07/2011 04:58:16 PM · #5 |
My use of the word Retarded was certainly off colored, and used only in an un-official rant.
My issue with these kind of policies is that they do nothing to treat the underlying mental issues of the people suffering (and often cause more). Even more than that, they create the exact problems they are supposed to remedy.
If my son were an opiate addict (and I hope he never has that issue), I would rather him go to a doctor to get something than the local dope man. People certainly take advantage of legal prescriptions in the U.S. and many of those drugs issued end up in "private" hands. . .but we already have laws to deal with that. . .and they don't work. . .so why add more laws.
My policy, even as a recovering addict with the additional level of temptation for me personally, would be to say that all drugs should be legalized. That would drain every ounce of cash from many of the gangs that require drug money to fund their entire operations. Of course, my suspicion is that this would also force Prisons and Law Enforcement to take dramatic cuts in un-needed staff. . .so is out of the question. Especially since many local counties and cities are virtually funded at the court level by fines produced by low end drug offenses. . .
It is quite a sad conundrum we find ourselves quagmired in.
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03/07/2011 06:36:03 PM · #6 |
Originally posted by crowis:
Of course, my suspicion is that this would also force Prisons and Law Enforcement to take dramatic cuts in un-needed staff. . .so is out of the question. |
A while ago we had an initiative someone referred to as the "Prison Guard Full Employment Act Of 200x" ... The teachers' unions take all the flak while the prison guards take all the cash -- make out like bandits, you might say ... :-( |
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03/07/2011 08:29:45 PM · #7 |
Welcome the police state! Now be quiet and go watch Cops or CSI or some other police-related TV show. :)
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03/07/2011 10:07:30 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by Mick:
Welcome the police state! Now be quiet and go watch Cops or CSI or some other police-related TV show. :) |
...None of which have any semblance to the real police environment. Many of them are more akin to "blowing smoke up your ...".
Ray
Message edited by author 2011-03-07 22:21:01. |
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