As U.S. opioid crisis grows, Trump calls for death penalty for dealers

Of course Trump called for the death penalty. It makes his idiot supporters froth at the mouth despite the death penalty being ineffective.

Trump doubling down on the war on drugs. Doubling down on a failure.

All this will do is make the market more appealing for organized crime. The increased risk will drive up market costs, which means that the underworld will have more incentive to smuggle drugs. In turn, they will also become more violent, due to the increased risk.

Good move.

All this will do is make the market more appealing for organized crime. The increased risk will drive up market costs, which means that the underworld will have more incentive to smuggle drugs. In turn, they will also become more violent, due to the increased risk.

What?! It's not like that happened with alcohol during prohibition. Oh, wait . . .

Good move.

Just like prohibition was, right? Should we make alcohol illegal again?

Drug abuse is a supply-side issue too.

Death penalty costs much more than putting someone away for life. Turns out that it is cheaper to pay for a college degree than to keep someone in jail for 10 yrs.

So ... we can build more jails or more colleges. I know which I'd rather see.

If you target and impose lengthier prison sentences as well as the death penalty, it won’t stop the epidemic, but it will slow it down and give pause to a lot of people. If you enforce these laws, it would work, but if you do a catch and release and don’t punish the peddlers this will only get worse.

it will slow it down

That's never happened anywhere.

and give pause to a lot of people.

But not to the black market. It incentivizes them.

Seems like you're doubling down on the failed war on drugs.

The ultimate "dealers" are the drug manufacturers and distributors (as well as unscrupulous physicians) who should question inordinate amounts of narcotics disproportionately going to a small area/population. Do they get the death penalty, too?

Death, death, death. Always with the violence.

Sickening, eye for an eye medieval stuff.

Here we go again. “He’s doing nothing! Everyone gonna die!”

then Trump does something: “it’s too late! It won’t work!”

Merry go round never stops.

Here we go again. “He’s doing nothing! Everyone gonna die!”

then Trump does something: “it’s too late! It won’t work!”

Not quite, champ. Trump either does nothing or does asinine, ineffective things. So yeah the

Merry go round never stops.

But not to the black market. It incentivizes them.

Hmmm...

Seems like you're doubling down on the failed war on drugs.

Maybe, I guess we will just have to live with guns and drugs.

Death, death, death. Always with the violence.

Sickening, eye for an eye medieval stuff.

You think so???

So what’s your solution? What did the previous guy do the last 8 years?

Merry go round never stops.

Almost like the nation is run by carnies.

Except when it starts ramping up the executions. That's when the fun stops.

Except when it starts ramping up the executions. That's when the fun stops.

Well, I for it, considering the lives they kill daily. I have zero sympathy for these animals.

Here we go again. “He’s doing nothing! Everyone gonna die!”

then Trump does something: “it’s too late! It won’t work!”

Doing nothing, and doing the wrong thing, are just as bad as each other.

So what’s your solution? What did the previous guy do the last 8 years?

The last guy didn't do enough.

The solution is to legalize all drugs, then regulate them and redirect all the money being spent on enforcement into education and rehabilitation.

Don't believe me? Then believe these police, judges, prison guards etc: https://lawenforcementactionpartnership.org/our-issues/drug-policy/

Trump said that he was working with Congress to find $6 billion in new funding for 2018 and 2019 to fight the opioid crisis. The plan will also seek to cut opioid prescriptions by a third over three years by changing federal programs, he said.

Good. I support this and I wish you luck.

At an event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Trump unveiled an anti-opioid abuse plan, including his death penalty recommendation

Dumb, and meant to appeal to emotional people. Not helpful.

This is an idea that will go no further than the frothing mouths of Trump's rabid base. It will face insurmountable political and legal barriers. If Trump and Friends want to pretend America is the Philippines under Duterte, let them have their fun. It just makes their MAGA dream less and less credible and attractive.

Under the Obama administration, drug overdose deaths nearly doubled, going from 36,450 in 2008 to more than 63,600 in 2016.

https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2018/02/09/obama-gets-d-trump-f-work-opioid-epidemic-expert-says/1043205001/

so you should focus on the rest of the plan without an emotional reaction to the media driven “death penalty” part and see what it actually does.

So let’s have government funded heroin injection centers?

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/07/health/safe-injection-sites-san-francisco-opioid-epidemic-bn/index.html

guess it keeps all the used needles off the street? Great liberal solution.

Because arbitrarily harsher sentences have worked so well for us in the past.

Here’s your liberal sanctuary city. Poop and used drug needles everywhere. Heroin use is illegal and those who traffic it need to be dealt with harshly. Another article says San Francisco alone has 22,000 IV drug users.

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/San-Francisco-dirty-needles-feces-foreign-slums-12627779.php

Neither Trump nor the White House gave further details

I wish journalists would stop wasting time writing sentences like this.

All that will do is make the public into even more of a mass murderer than it already is. A better solution is drug treatment for drug users, and financial ruin along with rehabilitation for drug dealers.

You cant deal drugs if you are in jail. If you let drug dealers out of jail early by saying their sentence was too harsh, look what happens:

https://nypost.com/2017/02/06/drug-dealer-whose-sentence-was-commuted-by-obama-is-back-behind-bars/

Because arbitrarily harsher sentences have worked so well for us in the past.

bass4funk: "Well, I for it, considering the lives they kill daily. I have zero sympathy for these animals."

How are you any different if you call for their deaths. Murder is murder, and support for murder is support for murder. Plain and simple.

In any case, Trump is a miniature Duterte, and already a dictator.

Under the Obama administration, drug overdose deaths nearly doubled, going from 36,450 in 2008 to more than 63,600 in 2016.

Yeah, they continued the failed war on drugs that previous governments started. Trump is doubling down on it.

So let’s have government funded heroin injection centers?

Yep:

in Australia, Sydney’s Medically Supervised Injecting Centre (MSIC) has been operational since May 2001. Fourteen years later in May 2015, the supervised injecting centre had successfully managed almost 6,000 opioid overdoses.3 The centre has also contributed to ambulance call outs to King’s Cross falling by 80%,4 and the number of publicly discarded needles and syringes almost halving.And for those with an eye to the economics as well as the human impact, Sydney’s MSIC produces greater financial savings than it costs to run.5

There are similar successes overseas.6 In Vancouver, Canada, the Insite supervised injection facility has been running since 2003. Researchers found that after its introduction, there was a 35% fall in overdose deaths within 500m.7 The facility has not led to increased public disorder, crime, or drug use, either.8

https://adf.org.au/insights/why-medically-supervised-injection-centres-save-lives-and-communities/

You cant deal drugs if you are in jail.

If you jail a rapist, that rapist is no longer raping. If you jail a drug dealer, the next dealer steps right in to fill their shoes.

You can't deal drugs if you are in jail, but the financial gains from selling drugs incentivize more people to sell drugs.

so you should focus on the rest of the plan without an emotional reaction to the media driven “death penalty” part and see what it actually does.

Perhaps you should do some research regarding the efficacy of the death penalty. Then you'd know it's not a media driven emotional reaction.

The media and liberals are reacting emotionally, like the policy is that a guy selling a bag of weed on the corner will be executed.

I guess the liberal position is just make all drugs legal and open treatment centers for addicts at taxpayer expense and maybe send all drug dealers to college for free so they will change occupations.

Illegal drugs are illegal and need to be dealt with criminally as a deterrent. Why should I have to work and pay taxes so others can go get high all day and then have staff on site to save them from dying from overdoses.

I guess the liberal position is just make all drugs legal and open treatment centers for addicts at taxpayer expense

I don't think it's the liberal position, but it most definitely is mine. And we are already paying for prisons and law enforcement of drugs at taxpayer expense. We've been dumping billions of dollars into it, and the end result is more people doing drugs than ever. The treatment centers should be paid for rather than law enforcement, as drugs are a health issue and should not be a criminal issue. Rather than wasting money on ineffective law enforcement, lets spend it responsibly

and maybe send all drug dealers to college for free so they will change occupations.

Why go to the extreme, and bring up something no one has said until now? It does nothing to further the conversation whatsoever. Are you just trying to score points? You realize that there are no winners and losers here, there is no point system. We're all just dudes talking on the internet.

Illegal drugs are illegal

Circular logic.

need to be dealt with criminally as a deterrent.

So you're putting your hat into the failed war on drugs. Sure, lets waste more money doing something that is ineffective.

Why should I have to work and pay taxes so others can go get high all day and then have staff on site to save them from dying from overdoses.

Because right now you're working and paying taxes while others get high all day, then wasting money on police, trials, and jails, all of which have been shown to be entirely ineffective. Let's stop throwing good money after bad.

I remember my father, a former military man and vet, said that people found guilty for possession of pot and anything else drug related should be executed. That would stop the drug problem.

My brother and I looked at each other with mouths agape and then laughed at him and we said to him, "Dad, you're not really serious about that, are you?!"

One look in his eyes and you knew he was. My brother and I at that time thought that the older generation was really out of touch and on a different wavelength.

Funny thing is, my father was a registered Democrat but he was a real hard-ass when it came to drugs.

Like my father, Trump is out of touch with the problem.

I guess the liberal position is just make all drugs legal and open treatment centers for addicts at taxpayer expense and maybe send all drug dealers to college for free so they will change occupations.

Yes. The media and liberals are being emotional again. Good of you to call them out.

So we just ignore all current laws as they relate to drugs? Not enforcing the laws caused us the illegal immigrant problem and I think it will just increase the drug problem.

why do we even have laws if you can just pick and choose which ones you follow? You know there is no way a law is going to be passed to make illegal drugs legal, right?

I dont agree with spending taxpayer money to give criminal drug users a nice, safe, warm, cozy place to partake in their illegal habits. Just makes them feel what they are doing is "ok", when it is not.

Because right now you're working and paying taxes while others get high all day, then wasting money on police, trials, and jails, all of which have been shown to be entirely ineffective. Let's stop throwing good money after bad.

So we just ignore all current laws as they relate to drugs?

No, we scrap most of them, and shift focus on fixing the drug problem from treating it as a criminal issue, and move to dealing with it as a health issue.

I dont agree with spending taxpayer money to give criminal drug users a nice, safe, warm, cozy place to partake in their illegal habits. Just makes them feel what they are doing is "ok", when it is not.

So you would rather have them doing it on the streets, leaving needles lying around? Sure, if that suits you, but I'd rather have them out of the way.

Also, you are talking about a 'warm, cozy place', have you ever actually seen one of these places? I have in Vancouver (my friend works for one), it most definitely did not fit that description.

Death penalty only for drug dealers who cause multiple deaths, as in selling tainted or purposely mixing dangerous fillers in it for more money. No different than some person poisoning multiple people causing deaths.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETGTB52V-F0

The solution should come from the gun lobby; more drugs. Give policemen drugs, teachers drugs, make drugs easier to obtain. Allow people to buy as many and as powerful as possible drugs. Make sure anyone can buy drugs. Set up a drug TV channel that glorifies drugs. Encourage drug use from childhood.

If I’m allowed to buy guns that can kill others I should certainly be able to buy drugs that only kill myself

PSAs not to do drugs? Well, OK then.

Because "Just say No" and "This is your brain on drugs" worked so well before.

Why should I have to work and pay taxes

You live and work in Japan, so don't pay taxes in the US unless you make over $100k a year. Only Bass makes that much.

Wish I lived in liberal world where I can just ignore any laws I dont "like". And yes, I pay US taxes.

Wish I lived in liberal world where I can just ignore any laws I dont "like".

What does this comment have to do with anything? No one has said this anywhere. Are you just making things up, or are you pulling them from some other source?

Illegal drug use is against the current law, is it not? Yet liberals dont want people arrested, you want to make place for them to safely continue breaking the laws. How do they get money to buy these drugs anyway? public assistance?

Illegal drug use is against the current law, is it not?

No, drug use is not illegal. Possession and sale are.

Yet liberals dont want people arrested, you want to make place for them to safely continue breaking the laws.

Yes. It's risk management, making the world a more livable place for all of us. Maybe you like walking around junkies on the streets in the city, while doing your best not to get pricked with a syringe some junkie left lying around, but I'd prefer they were kept away in a place where they aren't dying on the sidewalks, for their safety, and for our hygiene.

Oh, or were you thinking that the laws were somehow going to stop drug use? When did that ever happen anywhere, in the history of ever?

How do they get money to buy these drugs anyway?

Crime usually. Just another reason why the war on drugs is a failure - the artificially inflated prices due to drugs being a black market item creates an environment where addicts do crime to feed their habit.

Simply saying 'hey don't do crime, it's illegal' is about as effective as... well nothing. It's entirely ineffective.

Blacklabel: why do we even have laws if you can just pick and choose which ones you follow?

Only if you’re Christian and offended. Oh, or Joe Arpaio. I think you cheered when you heard that he was pardoned after picking and choosing which laws to follow.

How are you any different if you call for their deaths. Murder is murder, and support for murder is support for murder. Plain and simple. 

Sigh, I know liberals want and believe everyone should have a daisy, a dove and a unicorn.

In any case, Trump is a miniature Duterte, and already a dictator.

Really? He threw people from helicopters? He ordered the military and police to indiscriminately round up people and shoot them in the head?

If you jail a rapist, that rapist is no longer raping. If you jail a drug dealer, the next dealer steps right in to fill their shoes.

But the tax payer still has to pay for these people. Maybe it would be better if we just got rid of them. I don’t really want my money feeding them and making them happy. Waste of time and waste of air and money.

You can't deal drugs if you are in jail, but the financial gains from selling drugs incentivize more people to sell drugs.

Get rid of them, do like Texas, decrease the timing for executions and for appeals.

Well, Trump's plan is pretty solid, other than the "death penalty" part that is getting all of the attention and manufactured outrage. Hope it helps solve this crisis.

If you jail a rapist, that rapist is no longer raping. If you jail a drug dealer, the next dealer steps right in to fill their shoes.

But the tax payer still has to pay for these people.

Which people?

Get rid of them, do like Texas, decrease the timing for executions and for appeals.

And the organized crime cheers! Now they can make more money.

Well, Trump's plan is pretty solid, other than the "death penalty" part that is getting all of the attention and manufactured outrage. Hope it helps solve this crisis.

Yeah, give the war on drugs a chance. I mean, it might still work, right?

But the tax payer still has to pay for these people.

Which people?

US citizens

What? The tax payer has to pay for US citizens? The tax payer are US citizens.

I thought you previously opposed the use of the death penalty?

I do in a way, but this epidemic is so out of control, I’m willing to take a different approach to see what can be done and if this proposal becomes law of the land, how will it fair?

What? The tax payer has to pay for US citizens? The tax payer are US citizens

Well, the more reason to cut them off and we can save more money. These people don’t care, neither should we.

I wonder how many people who frequent casinos owned by him, hotel guests of his, staff employed by him...use drugs?

Read Trumps plan. It’s not simply a “War on drugs”.

There are all kinds of people on drugs. Some should be helped, others should be locked up. It’s not like there’s just one type of user/dealer.

And no, I don’t have a perfect line to draw that separates them, but we don’t need radical policies in either direction.

how about a war on white collar Wall St crime 

Good idea. Two birds, one stone.

Read Trumps plan. It’s not simply a “War on drugs”.

While there are some good measures there, like trying to reduce the amount of opiods proscribed, and more funding for rehabilitation, there is nothing in there that indicates any kind of end or change to the war on drugs. He's simply carrying on the failed policies of the Obama, Bush2, Clinton, Bush1 and Regan administrations.

Wish I lived in liberal world where I can just ignore any laws I dont "like". And yes, I pay US taxes.

We all know this poster makes over $102k a year. Thanks for the info.

I do in a way,

Unless Trump proposes it.

The death penalty is allowed in 31 states. So what happens in the states which ended it?

Life without the possibility of parole.

Judge Craig D. Hannah of Buffalo New York is a judge with a mission to keep defendants alive.

I hope instituting the death penalty will change that.

America’s first opioid court is working well

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/10/05/opioid-epidemic-getting-worse-instead-better-public-health-officials-warn/732192001/

Evidently Not.

The closer Mueller gets expect the insane outbursts from Trump to get more insane. The "say stuff" president's tactic to change the discourse from his last scandal has about worn out.

The Insane Party have their tax-cuts for their 0.01% ers. It's time to get rid of this moronic imposter, he can do a lot more damage before this coming November's annihilation.

You either support it or you don't. There's no, "I kinda don't support the death penalty, but I'd make an exception for what Trump wants," anymore than there's an "I quit smoking but I still smoke sometimes". 

Sorry, but you don’t get to tell me how or what I should think or choose or what or how I should decide, I do and think as I please, now having said that, I am against the death penalty generally speaking, however in this situation I do believe the punishment should fit the crime.

What are you talking about? You've got a whole ranch of horses with toilet paper horns people said were unicorns and you bought. And by the way I've got some REAL unicorns to sell you if you think that not believing in the death penalty -- something you said you do not believe in until this declaration by Trump -- means you want to give everyone daisies. 

What?

It's quite funny watch you say, "I am against the death penalty... but I think it's a good idea here.

Yes, that’s right and I’m very serious about it.

I think Trump's a lunatic,

I feel the same about the Democrats.

but I support him now. I am against murder, like these scumbag drug dealers do every day and should be killed for," etc. Typical bass.

Not typical, I can and have the right to change, be divided on issues have various opinions as it suits me.

So many individuals who end up using, abusing and sometimes dying from these dangerous, harmfully potent drugs started with their well-meaning physician's legal prescriptions. Don't get me wrong, I consider doctors on case by case basis because most of them are caring, decent human beings. But on the other hand, many doctors also do not seem put a lot of thoughts into the long term harmful, negative effects that may occur on their patients.

The current upsurge isn't generally rooted in delinquency but a lot of cases are. Most of the drug issues are predominantly behavioral related matter of contention. Arguments such as scantiness of jobs, family interaction inadequacies, instant gratification cultural imbeddedness, powerlessness to endure minor inconsequential discomforts, easy marijuana accessibility during younger days, parents who also consumes, prescriptions (sometimes unnecessary) from doctors, overindulge and admittance to meds, substantial extensive boost of medicaid/disability, etc and the list goes on and on.

Most rehab programs have been very ineffective to trying to tackle the root cause of these issues. Personal responsibility and accountability, moral integrity, deep value for hard work ethics, family, faith, expansive job creation and availability, etc are good starters. Argumentatively it can be on a case by case for each unique individual because it it so complicated but generally a large contributing factor of drug abuse are characteristics of being immature, dishonest, low self-esteem, depression and probably the most terrifying of them, are the vindictive suicides that throw so many others in suffering and despair.

I am against the death penalty generally speaking, however in this situation I do believe the punishment should fit the crime

So, you are for the death penalty.

I’m pretty sure you have more situations where you think the punishment ( execution ) should ‘fit’ the crime. I don’t think even the most disturbed inmates of the GOP isolation ward advocate it for illegal parking.

It’s what’s known as being for the death penalty.

The closer Mueller gets expect the insane outbursts from Trump to get more insane.

Closer to what? Trying to indict a desperate ham sandwich?

The "say stuff" president's tactic to change the discourse from his last scandal has about worn out.

Mueller’s witch hunt as well.

The Insane Party have their tax-cuts for their 0.01% ers.

Seems like most Americans are quite happy.

https://www.dailysignal.com/2018/01/16/164-companies-credit-tax-reform-for-bonuses-and-pay-raises/

Funny, the 0.01% of liberals hate Trump and yet, they shouldn’t. Strange people.

It's time to get rid of this moronic imposter, he can do a lot more damage before this coming November's annihilation.

Even the most liberalist Of Trump haters think it’s very difficult and probably he’ll get elected to a second term. Unless the economy totally tanks and that doesn’t look like it’s happening, because in the end, the economy and jobs are really the only thing that matters.

in the end, the economy and jobs are really the only thing that matters.

You’ve disproved this idea yourself. The economy tanked catastrophically under Bush and unemployment rocketed, but as your non-partisan historians pointed out, his term in office was regarded as a success.

It’s clear from them that the economy and jobs aren’t all that matter when judging a politician.

It’s clear from them that the economy and jobs aren’t all that matter when judging a politician.

Not according to the middle class, but to desperate Democrats it does.

It’s clear from them that the economy and jobs aren’t all that matter when judging a politician.

Not according to the middle class, but to desperate Democrats it does.

I’m not talking about the middle class and desperate democrats. I’m talking about your non-partisan historians on the Bush years who made it clear that a good economy and low unemployment aren’t the only factors people keep in mind when judging a politician.

Clearly other factors are important according to non-partisan scholars.

Bass: Sorry, but you don’t get to tell me how or what I should think or choose or what or how I should decide

That's Trump's job.

You guys lose again. Trump makes liberals take the strangest positions. Now just to be against Trump you need to support drug dealers and drug addicts instead.

I’m not talking about the middle class and desperate democrats.

But that’s what I wa talking about and he main focus, what the heck will the Dems do and stand for? What will be their message? Do they have a message besides income redistribution?

That's Trump's job.

He’s a Democrat????

Blacklabel: Now just to be against Trump you need to support drug dealers and drug addicts instead.

Of course. Just like not supporting your wall means we support open borders. Or not supporting your voter suppression laws means we support voter fraud.

Anytime someone doesn't support your misguided and ineffective "solutions" it must mean we support the problem.

And I wonder how Republicans can hate America so much that they would let a beautiful country fall to pieces and are proud of destroying their nation.

Well interesting you talk about guns. An armed guard just stopped a school shooting and the attacker is dead.

but that’s doesnt work, you guys said over and over. Yet it does and it did today.

I support death penalty for illicit drug makers and traffickers. The Cocaine, Heroin, Methamphetamine and other illicit drugs makers and distributors should be severely punished by death penalty. Also, the Government should increase budget for rehabilitation program and support network for drug users and former drug users.

The illegal drug producers, traffickers and dealers are selfish and they are making money and living in high life by destroying peoples' lives. They deserve death penalty for what they have done to other peoples' lives and their families.

Yes, that’s why everyone can’t run fast enough from States like CA and NY to live in a better place or as libs would call it, a conservative nightmare state. Lol

If that were true, Americans wouldn't think CA and NY were the best places to live, and you wouldn't see them flocking to these states to get away from the Republicans who hate American and hate the constitution ROFL.

And Duterte's crackdown on drugs is mentioned. The thousands who were literally executed for possessing sachets of shabu at the most were killed just to sow fear to the masses. Look at the tens of millions of dollars of shabu from China which was passed through the Customs, only the warehouseman was jailed and if one would wonder where that shabu is now. Nobody knows. What Duterte knows about drug addiction is addiction to shabu, cocaine and the likes. Addiction to prescription drugs like fentanyl is one thing he doesn't know about. If he knows, he'll probably just shut his mouth.

It is both ironic and stupid that he should call for the death penalty for opiod drug dealers, since most addicts are getting supplied through their pharmacies. If the dealers were in fact to be put to death, should we start with the pharmacists who hand out the drugs, the doctors who write the prescriptions for the drugs, or the drug company executives, who give big bonuses to doctors for over prescribing opiods?

Maybe people should consider why American society has so many drug addicts?

Maybe people should consider why American society has so many drug addicts?

And how to deal with it, since the war on drugs is a failure.

despite the death penalty being ineffective.

It’s effective in individual cases.

It’s effective in individual cases.

It's never been shown to be a deterrent and it's far more expensive than life without parole. Not to mention the numerous wrongly convicted that have been sentenced to death.

Or, did you mean for preventing the executed from committing another crime? If so, life in prison is as effective.

Even the most liberalist Of Trump haters think it’s very difficult and probably he’ll get elected to a second term.

You're going to have to back this little gem up with a cite if you want anyone to believe it.

Bass: Sorry, but you don’t get to tell me how or what I should think or choose

Why not? You are constantly doing this to "lefties" and "liberals." Perhaps you think you have a monopoly on telling people how and what to thinknor chose.

President Trump offers a solution to our opioid crisis and of course the leftists hate it. Heh, wouldn't expect otherwise. . . .

President Trump offers a solution to our opioid crisis

Ahh, another person who suddenly thinks the war on drugs will start working.

Remember that definition of insanity about doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome?

President Trump offers a solution to our opioid crisis

Yeah, because the death penalty has proven a solution to murder, terrorism, and every other crime to which it has been applied. Reality is clearly different in the breakaway Mexican state of Texas.

The primary dealers in opiates in the USA are doctors and pharmacists.

The talk of illegal drug dealers is a bit of a side show. The real addiction to opiates is through pain killers.

I was at the train station in Oslo, waiting a couple of hours for the train to Copenhagen. It was morning. A scruffy looking young man and his girl friend asked me if I would buy them coffee and toast with goat cheese - what passes for a quick breakfast over there. They weren't threatening me, and it seemed like a chance for a conversation. It turned out that they were both drug addicts. He said that whenever they needed a fix they could go to the hospital and get a fix, for free, under the socialist medical system in Norway. I found the information enlightening. Drug dealers were undercut by the State, which supplied high quality, carefully regulated drugs, with clean needles, preferably something other than heroin. Not sure about all of the details, but seems like a typically enlightened, Scandinavian way of dealing with a tough problem. No need for talk of vigilantism, no need for addicts to sale their bodies or break into homes and businesses. This was 49 years ago, so not sure how they do things today, but haven't heard about any opiod crisis over there. Part of their solution may be, perhaps, that drug companies do not have the ability to push opioids, since the socialist healthcare system provides drugs with tax money. Talked with a relative back then about healthcare, and he said that their socialist medical system cost one half US dollar per week, for every person in the country. Even if the price has gone up since then, sounds like a bargain.

The opioid dealers are called "doctors".

Would this measure decrease drugs consumption? Not

Would this measure increase violence and corruption? Yes

Clear as water

I know an addict on opioids that had withdrawal seizures in hospital that his elder brother had taken him to.

There was a grand plan to get him here to start a new life.

After a month of intensive study and a TEFL qualification (paid for by the family) he was ready to come to Japan and start a life without drugs.

Needless to say, it all fell through due to his drug cravings!

The point is that addicts not only have their own lives messed up but also mess up the lives of others.

America needs to become tougher and stop their society slipping into decay.

Certainly, the death penalty is a major deterrent but it’s not the right way.

Japan doesn’t have a problem with drugs.

Maybe the US can assimilate the norms that are prevalent here into their society?

How about implying the death penalty for treason (Mr. Trump) and then abolishing the death penalty altogether, like Romania did in late December 1989?

In late October 2017, President Trump announced that the rise in opioid addiction is “a national health emergency.”

“Nobody,” he declared, “has seen anything like what is going on now.”

And it’s true – we really are facing a health epidemic the likes of which have never been seen before.

https://revivedetoxlosangeles.com/new-tax-bill-means-addiction-treatment/