The Chinese experience proves that countries do not have to tolerate drug use; the United States is currently under siege from a disastrous campaign to prove the opposite.
While I don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying, and sparing the moral argument of the 'right' of the otherwise perfectly societally contributing man or woman to enjoy a J on their front porch (which obviously doesn't hurt anybody), I'm curious what you are actually proposing. We've tried the drug war. I would not personally qualify it as a success, but that's me. Are you saying the status quo, or the 1990's status quo of that drug war would be preferable to what we have currently? I'd love to hear more specifics as to why it would work now but didn't then.
Also, and not to sound like too much of a right-winger, but I think the amount of societal/cultural rot in this country is almost impossible to quantify but also explains a lot of recent negative happenings. For example, guns (including 'assault weapons') have been around for a long time but the idea of people going on mass murdering killing sprees where most of the victims are more or less strangers is a relatively recent phenomenon and I don't see how rationally one can point the finger solely at guns as the cause for this increase. Similarly, I don't think increases in overdoses is solely related to recent legislative moves to relax the drug war. We're living in a more and more broken society and I think these are unfortunately some of the fall out from that.
Alex says he would forcibly outlaw drugs because "The externalities of use and especially addiction are too severe."
Is he aware of the full meaning of individual liberty, which includes not only the freedom to do anything that does not violate the rights of others, but also the responsibility to answer for any harm you have done? So if I get drunk or high and then drive over a pedestrian, I cannot claim I am innocent because I was temporarily incapacitated. When I make the choice to consume the drug, I accept responsibility for any actions that result from that decision. Making individuals responsible for their actions, and unable to rely on the forced charity of others for rehabilitation, would eliminate nearly all
I have been to China probably 50 times and I have an office there. I can tell you all that EVERY school child spends A YEAR studying the Opium Wars, and it is why the Chinese people are encouraged at every opportunity to cheat, rob, steal, manipulate "the West" as payback. My employees all openly discuss it. It's exactly why they are so happy to lie to America and Europe - there is no tolerance for dishonesty among Chinese citizens, but it's a badge of honor to stick it to us! I cannot be emphatic enough about this phenomenon.
1. Thank you for using your platform for this issue! So important and so true.
2. “ You might call that karma for the Opium War. Or you might wonder if karma is another word for revenge.”
One of the big differences between our leaders and their leaders is that their leaders actually have historical memory. I bet most congressmen couldn’t even tell you what the Opium War was. China is getting revenge on us and our population is so poorly educated it doesn’t even understand what the revenge is for!
3. Speaking of the poorly educated and drug use, y’all might like this on the need for doctors to read some Oscar Wilde instead of turning the entire country into a bunch of drugged up Dorian Grays:
Sounds eerily similar to what the CCP is doing with drug chemical supplies at the border past 3.5 years. 98% of fentanyl chemicals come form CHINA. Same thing the Brits did with China to destroy them historically speaking. Add digital fentanyl to the mix (TIKTOCK etc) and all the injected commie ways of promoting division in America (WOKE agenda-TRANS) and voila. Tearing down a country without firing a single bullet
It is not compassionate to decriminalize narcotics. Removing legal and social stigmas associated with their use greatly increases their availability and abuse. Many more people end up living on the sidewalk with needles in their arms until they die lying in their own excrement. I saw this experiment run in real time in Portland, Oregon which was a beautiful safe city until the Democrat politicians "decriminalized" hard drugs and set up homeless encampments where human beings were turned into half naked savages living and needlessly dying on the street. This is not compassion or even noble adherence to principles of autonomy. It is cold blooded murder and those who advocate for it are either moronic or demonic.
Consequences which many in the pain management profession knew, and told Congress exactly what would happen.
In 2014 there were approximately 20,000 opiod related over dose deaths.
In 2023 there will be more than 100,000 opiod related deaths. This massive increase is a direct result of government policy. Instead of focusing on the real issue of addiction, they chose to cut off the supply of clean, legitimate pain medication. Punishing those who had a legitimate need, and cutting off the supply to millions of addicts. The results were predicted. Nobody listened.
In 2014 the Obama Administration proposed new laws, which re-classified hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxycycotin (among others) as schedule 1 drugs. Put them in the same category as Heroin and Cocaine. The new laws restricted physicians ability to write Rx, implemented dystopian surveillance tools on physicians, made it difficult for pharmacists to dispense the drugs, even with legit Rx. Many states implemented even tougher rules, barring out of state prescriptions, forcing waiting periods, and generally treating those trying to fill prescriptions as criminals. And of course insurance companies were only to happy to stop covering these prescriptions, even when they were totally legit. And manufacturers had new restrictions on how much they could produce and distribute in the US.
The result was exactly what was intended. An approximate 40% reduction in the number of pills sold with legitimate prescriptions.
But, Congress and the FDA and Obama were warned during the hearing on the changes what would occur. They were told that where there is demand, supply will fill the void. And the explosion of fentanyl and the cartels that get it into the US is a direct result of changes made in 2014. In addition, the drug companies simply moved their manufacturing offshore, and the stuff comes back in to the US and is sold on the black market for enormous sums. And much of it is adulterated. And it kills.
None of this had to happen. The govt chose the worst possible solution. Which I guess is no surprise because that is what they always do.
For me Personally I have seen hundreds of overdose cases and deaths. I have held babies in my Palm of my hand born from both Parents syringe dependent and smoke cigarettes and abuse alcohol as well. These babies are on life support some for several months. I have seen adults come into the Emergency department high on drugs like George Floyd and destroy the entire emergency department and staff. I have seen many Patients who have had more than one near death experience and bring them back to life. Drugs do more than rot teeth they can turn a 30 year old into looking like a 90 year old looking like a dried up baseball glove. I too have had a death in my family from drug overdose my cousins only son she is a Dentist and her brother my cousin was a Police chief for more than 20 years. I know people who financed there home to get help for a love one because of insurance wouldn't cover anything. I know people who was in a Program for 10 years and die from a overdose. The same people pushing these mRNA shots are legalization of marijuana cannabis these same people fund Planned Parenthood we are dealing with Evil and evil can be Mail or female no joke. Trying to educate some it's best they stay innocent Elizabeth!
You could extend your argument about user benefits vs society bears the costs beyond drugs to other issues. Diet is a big one. People enjoy eating carby junk food and we all pay for it through the cost of medical care. Should food manufacture and distribution be controlled similar to drugs? I certainly agree that subsidies and food propaganda be eliminated, but beyond let's stick with personal responsibility.
I'm a libertarian leaning conservative because libertarianism (usually) works. But not so well with mind altering drugs. Because libertarianism requires rational agency--and these substances are exquisitely designed to produce the opposite citizen.
There is no such thing as a "safe, regulated supply" of drugs, as demonstrated by states that have legalized drugs either by affirmative legalization or by failure to enforce drug laws. The closest we've been to "safe, regulated supply" is pharmaceuticals and look where that got us. The black market always offers something the regulated market doesn't, and lack of deterrence only encourages use. We see the mental and physical decay on a stunning and demoralizing scale in footage of San Francisco and other cities. As Charles Bowden would say, some of the dead are still breathing.
While I don't disagree with a lot of what you're saying, and sparing the moral argument of the 'right' of the otherwise perfectly societally contributing man or woman to enjoy a J on their front porch (which obviously doesn't hurt anybody), I'm curious what you are actually proposing. We've tried the drug war. I would not personally qualify it as a success, but that's me. Are you saying the status quo, or the 1990's status quo of that drug war would be preferable to what we have currently? I'd love to hear more specifics as to why it would work now but didn't then.
Also, and not to sound like too much of a right-winger, but I think the amount of societal/cultural rot in this country is almost impossible to quantify but also explains a lot of recent negative happenings. For example, guns (including 'assault weapons') have been around for a long time but the idea of people going on mass murdering killing sprees where most of the victims are more or less strangers is a relatively recent phenomenon and I don't see how rationally one can point the finger solely at guns as the cause for this increase. Similarly, I don't think increases in overdoses is solely related to recent legislative moves to relax the drug war. We're living in a more and more broken society and I think these are unfortunately some of the fall out from that.
Alex says he would forcibly outlaw drugs because "The externalities of use and especially addiction are too severe."
Is he aware of the full meaning of individual liberty, which includes not only the freedom to do anything that does not violate the rights of others, but also the responsibility to answer for any harm you have done? So if I get drunk or high and then drive over a pedestrian, I cannot claim I am innocent because I was temporarily incapacitated. When I make the choice to consume the drug, I accept responsibility for any actions that result from that decision. Making individuals responsible for their actions, and unable to rely on the forced charity of others for rehabilitation, would eliminate nearly all
so-called "externalities."
I have been to China probably 50 times and I have an office there. I can tell you all that EVERY school child spends A YEAR studying the Opium Wars, and it is why the Chinese people are encouraged at every opportunity to cheat, rob, steal, manipulate "the West" as payback. My employees all openly discuss it. It's exactly why they are so happy to lie to America and Europe - there is no tolerance for dishonesty among Chinese citizens, but it's a badge of honor to stick it to us! I cannot be emphatic enough about this phenomenon.
Mao needed thousands of bullets over decades to get the same results as we could with ONE.
Shoot the next person, dead on sight, who tries to illegally enter our country.
How's that for a deterrent?
Solution is quite simple.
1. Thank you for using your platform for this issue! So important and so true.
2. “ You might call that karma for the Opium War. Or you might wonder if karma is another word for revenge.”
One of the big differences between our leaders and their leaders is that their leaders actually have historical memory. I bet most congressmen couldn’t even tell you what the Opium War was. China is getting revenge on us and our population is so poorly educated it doesn’t even understand what the revenge is for!
3. Speaking of the poorly educated and drug use, y’all might like this on the need for doctors to read some Oscar Wilde instead of turning the entire country into a bunch of drugged up Dorian Grays:
https://gaty.substack.com/p/the-picture-of-dorian-gray-is-not
Sounds eerily similar to what the CCP is doing with drug chemical supplies at the border past 3.5 years. 98% of fentanyl chemicals come form CHINA. Same thing the Brits did with China to destroy them historically speaking. Add digital fentanyl to the mix (TIKTOCK etc) and all the injected commie ways of promoting division in America (WOKE agenda-TRANS) and voila. Tearing down a country without firing a single bullet
It is not compassionate to decriminalize narcotics. Removing legal and social stigmas associated with their use greatly increases their availability and abuse. Many more people end up living on the sidewalk with needles in their arms until they die lying in their own excrement. I saw this experiment run in real time in Portland, Oregon which was a beautiful safe city until the Democrat politicians "decriminalized" hard drugs and set up homeless encampments where human beings were turned into half naked savages living and needlessly dying on the street. This is not compassion or even noble adherence to principles of autonomy. It is cold blooded murder and those who advocate for it are either moronic or demonic.
The Law of Unintended Consequences.
Consequences which many in the pain management profession knew, and told Congress exactly what would happen.
In 2014 there were approximately 20,000 opiod related over dose deaths.
In 2023 there will be more than 100,000 opiod related deaths. This massive increase is a direct result of government policy. Instead of focusing on the real issue of addiction, they chose to cut off the supply of clean, legitimate pain medication. Punishing those who had a legitimate need, and cutting off the supply to millions of addicts. The results were predicted. Nobody listened.
In 2014 the Obama Administration proposed new laws, which re-classified hydrocodone, oxycodone, oxycycotin (among others) as schedule 1 drugs. Put them in the same category as Heroin and Cocaine. The new laws restricted physicians ability to write Rx, implemented dystopian surveillance tools on physicians, made it difficult for pharmacists to dispense the drugs, even with legit Rx. Many states implemented even tougher rules, barring out of state prescriptions, forcing waiting periods, and generally treating those trying to fill prescriptions as criminals. And of course insurance companies were only to happy to stop covering these prescriptions, even when they were totally legit. And manufacturers had new restrictions on how much they could produce and distribute in the US.
The result was exactly what was intended. An approximate 40% reduction in the number of pills sold with legitimate prescriptions.
But, Congress and the FDA and Obama were warned during the hearing on the changes what would occur. They were told that where there is demand, supply will fill the void. And the explosion of fentanyl and the cartels that get it into the US is a direct result of changes made in 2014. In addition, the drug companies simply moved their manufacturing offshore, and the stuff comes back in to the US and is sold on the black market for enormous sums. And much of it is adulterated. And it kills.
None of this had to happen. The govt chose the worst possible solution. Which I guess is no surprise because that is what they always do.
For me Personally I have seen hundreds of overdose cases and deaths. I have held babies in my Palm of my hand born from both Parents syringe dependent and smoke cigarettes and abuse alcohol as well. These babies are on life support some for several months. I have seen adults come into the Emergency department high on drugs like George Floyd and destroy the entire emergency department and staff. I have seen many Patients who have had more than one near death experience and bring them back to life. Drugs do more than rot teeth they can turn a 30 year old into looking like a 90 year old looking like a dried up baseball glove. I too have had a death in my family from drug overdose my cousins only son she is a Dentist and her brother my cousin was a Police chief for more than 20 years. I know people who financed there home to get help for a love one because of insurance wouldn't cover anything. I know people who was in a Program for 10 years and die from a overdose. The same people pushing these mRNA shots are legalization of marijuana cannabis these same people fund Planned Parenthood we are dealing with Evil and evil can be Mail or female no joke. Trying to educate some it's best they stay innocent Elizabeth!
You could extend your argument about user benefits vs society bears the costs beyond drugs to other issues. Diet is a big one. People enjoy eating carby junk food and we all pay for it through the cost of medical care. Should food manufacture and distribution be controlled similar to drugs? I certainly agree that subsidies and food propaganda be eliminated, but beyond let's stick with personal responsibility.
The heart of the problem ....
1. China obviously knows it’s own history
2. We don’t .
What? China is the template? No thanks.
Thanks Alex. Relied on your ruthless reporting skills to write this op-ed which was published in a marijuana Republican's district here in Texas.
https://sanangelolive.com/news/live-thought/2023-05-08/republicans-should-be-party-mental-health-not-marijuana
I'm a libertarian leaning conservative because libertarianism (usually) works. But not so well with mind altering drugs. Because libertarianism requires rational agency--and these substances are exquisitely designed to produce the opposite citizen.
There is no such thing as a "safe, regulated supply" of drugs, as demonstrated by states that have legalized drugs either by affirmative legalization or by failure to enforce drug laws. The closest we've been to "safe, regulated supply" is pharmaceuticals and look where that got us. The black market always offers something the regulated market doesn't, and lack of deterrence only encourages use. We see the mental and physical decay on a stunning and demoralizing scale in footage of San Francisco and other cities. As Charles Bowden would say, some of the dead are still breathing.
So why do democrats want more drug addicts? What’s going on?
I must have missed the part in the constitution that gave the feds the power to say what I can, cannot, or shall ingest/inject.
That said, fully support the 10th amendment being used by states/localities to strongly regulate the most damaging substances like opiates.