Was this in Liverpool where some scally had nicked his wheels?
5 Likes
No, it was Dublin in '79 Iād say. I was very naive in those days 
I just thought he was doing extremely well. It was only when he was found dead in his flat somebody enlightened me as to the ābusinessā heād slid into. He was a nice. cheerful poor soul.
In general I donāt think that you are in a minority - perhaps in this thread on SF you are.
However a huge problem in getting people off illegal drugs is just that they are illegal, that means that you rely on criminals for your supply. these people tend not to be known for their benevolence - their vested interest, after all, is not to have you clean but to have you addicted.
The addiction itself is not usually the problem - itās getting people out of the loop with criminal dealers and helping them function as people. If that means giving them a clean, controlled, supply of their drug of choice then that is what you do.
Different drugs, of course, need different strategies. Opiates are not that harmful on their own so can be taken in a controlled fashion for long periods. Alcohol, on the other hand, is toxic so getting people dry then supporting them to stay dry is almost certainly the best approach.
2 Likes
As @JohnH says, prosecution and help are not mutually exclusive.
There will always be a need for criminal sanctions, whether or not a country manages to licence clean supply. Some methadone users, for example, continue to buy heroin.
And the fact I consume one type of drug which has pretty much always been legal (alcohol) is no argument for saying all drugs should be decriminalised. Unless we think that use of the drugs currently prohibited is a good thing, then we should discourage it by all means available. I would have thought that was unarguable.
In my earlier post I was pointing out that criminalising and aggressively combatting drug use has been ineffective at preventing both use and addiction, and has probably significantly increased the numbers of people who wish to experiment. If drug use was seen as shameful, sordid and degrading then itās likely far fewer would be encouraged to try it. Compare it with smoking, once essential to appear cool, itās now awkward and embarassing that people have to feed their habit, though of course vaping has taken over the gap in the market.
1 Like
I think too, there is a major difficulty in that there is a large selection of chemical, man-made illegal drugs available, with new ones coming up all the time.
Easy for OCG to produce and distribute, often in schools, what young people seeking to be part if āthe groupā, or look cool, these chemicals are instantly addictive.
Whether some fool offers a child āKā (ketamin), crack, fenty (fentanyl) or a mixture like blonde, the young person, who may easily have been offered a free try with all the ensuing lies, is hooked like a trout.
It will be nearly impossible to provide safe, legal, constantly evolving alternatives. Negating the chemical receptor would be an answer but how to do that without removing all other psychological stimuli?
Some states are starting to realise that a legal supply of āweedā for medicinal and recreational use is a great way to raise tax dollars. More states join that league.
Have just noticed that Arte online has a three part documentary on the history of drug trafficking - thereās a French subtitle option that I always find very useful. Arte is a fantastic resource.
Does Heathrow still have sniffer dogs trained to find biltong on incoming flights from SA?
Thanks for the tip. Will have a look for Arte docu.
No idea about Heathrow. Its been years since I was a frequent flyer on the NYC - London route. But remember beagle patrols in most US/Canadian airports to check luggage for fruit & Sausages.
2 Likes
Mainstream drugs: heroin! Fentanyl maybe the worst, but two shots of heroin and most people in this discussion would be hooked. Itās incredibly addictive and also you get resistant to its effects quickly which means you always need more.
Tons of good films on this: notably Candy with Heath Ledger or The French Connection 2.
But yes maybe legalising marijuana would be a start as it would cut some of the gangsā profits, and also reduce public interaction with dealers.
Iām not so sure - nearly fifty years ago I unknowingly smoked some heroin in a joint and found it the most unpleasant, gloomy and depressing experience. Certainly never wanted to repeat it and donāt think Iām untypical.
But, more importantly, most people have no desire whatsoever to inject themselves with anything, most casual recreational drug users want pleasure not oblivion, similarly, most people who drink alcohol donāt become alcoholics.
By contrast, self-destructive drug or alcohol addiction is usually a consequence of life escalating, or descending out of ones control, rather than it being an hermetically isolated problem. Hence the need for comprehensive social support structures and a variety of well funded routes back to ānormalityā
4 Likes
Absolute rubbish.
4 Likes
Yes indeed, and the Fentanyl comment too. Fentanyl Is a horrible drug but itās been whipped up by the media to ridiculous extents. All these stories about people touching tissues with traces of fentanyl and dropping dead and the like, if it sounds like a bad plot from Law & Order, and in fact is a bad plot from Law & Order, it probably has almost zero basis in fact, but itās still enough to rile up the gammons and the blue rinse brigade over their breakfast perusal of the Daily Express or Mailā¦
Speaking of educating students on the dangers of illegal drugs, I came across this
Note the alarming vocabulary words!
Havenāt read it, but looking at the text in the URL I assume itās suggesting that U.S. life expectancy had dropped due to opioid abuse. I suppose thatās probably correct, as fentanyl abuse has exploded in the last 10 years or more, itās said (with lots of evidence) because of the overly aggressive promotion of fentanyl from Purdue Pharma who were āincentivisingā doctors to proscribe fentanyl for absolutely anything under the sun. The Sackler family who own Purdue were, it is said, personally instrumental in the aggressive drive for more and more sales using questionable if not illegal tactics. Thatās not the only reason for the drop in life expectancy in the U.S. though. The ever increasing gap between rich and poor (as is also happening in the U.K.) has played a part as well, as has the batshit crazy brigade in the U.S. in itās crusade against covid measures. The drop in life expectancy in the U.S. is quite startling, and is the largest since the great depression.
Edit : I made a mistake, corrected by @billybutcher below. Itās oxycontin, not fentanyl that Purdue were touting.
Or if women didnāt prostitute themselves or create pornography
You forgot counterfeit goods. If only people would stop buying Counterfeit Cigerettes Watches, sunglasses, handbags, Football shirts etc etc
Riiight - itās all womenās fault is it?
3 Likes
I had no idea that only men created/enjoyed/consumed/bought (delete as you prefer) pornography. I suspect the days of pornography being provided solely by the criminal classes are long gone.
No, but equally it is not all menās fault either