Comments by "Deborah Freedman" (@deborahfreedman333) on "She went to jail for her friend's fatal overdose. Now she's advocating for Oregon drug reform" video.

I never was addicted. But, I easily could have been. I went through chemotherapy 8 years ago. And my oncologist wrote scripts for oxycotin like they were sugar pills. I only filled one, and was very sparing in my use. My brother was an addict, so I feared I might have a genetic predisposition to it. I preferred living with pain to addiction. When my torture was done, my mailbox filled with ads for addiction treatment centers. Everyday there at least 3 brochures delivered to me. It turns out, many cancer patients end their treatment with an addiction problem. And when the scripts end, they turn to injectables.
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@realblacksknowthetruth1519 If all drugs were legal, nobody would have to resort to the black market, and there would be no danger involved in transport. You make an argument for decriminalization, not against it.
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@realblacksknowthetruth1519 I really doubt that you were an addiction counselor. I've had a number of friends, who were in that line of work, all of them were far more compassionate, and less judgemental than you are. The only reason that they are criminals, is that we have made a victimless activity a crime.
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Which is why I voted for the Oregon measure. You cannot legislate morality, Prohibition should have taught us that. We've long had Portugal's example of the result of decriminalization, all good. I'm in my 60s, and have watched law enforcement become more militarized due to the war on drugs. My son-in-law did not have his mother in his tender youth, because his mother was in prison for non-violent drug charges. I'm not one of those people who thinks just because I don't use heavy drugs, nobody should be permitted. Addiction is terrible, but we should treat it, not treat it like a crime. We waste far too many tax dollars arresting, prosecuting and incarcerating people for vice crimes.
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What makes you think this is a conservative policy? I remember this going on under JFK's and LBJ's rule. Woodrow Wilson (D) was president when cocaine and opiates were made illegal, a time when both the House and Senate majority were Democratic. In my lifetime, both Republican and Democratic administrations have escalated this stupid war on drugs. No one party owns this problem.
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I agree. And I voted in favor of the measure.
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@glitchlypickle5065 Or they can move to Oregon. We've had legal weed longer than Canada has. And now, all drugs are decriminalized.
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Cocaine and opiates were made illegal in 1914. More than a hundred years later, the problem is worse than ever. Clearly, criminalization does not word.
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Troy Ryan Suicide should not be illegal.
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Bull. I live in Portland, and have a good number of gay friends. None of them use. I don't know where you got that figure, but it is grossly inflated. And don't worry. We've decriminalized drugs in Oregon.
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Don't forget confiscation.
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@Nostradumlbass When Harris was a DA, she pushed for diversion programs. When Biden shepherded through the crime bill, the streets of all major cities were unsafe, crime rates were going through the roof. Black community leaders advocated for this bill. The results were unintended. We have never lived in a perfect world, and nobody can see the future. Don't castigate good people for not having 20/20 hindsight.
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It is wise to pick the messenger. It has to be someone the majority can relate to. Remember, Rosa Parks was not the first black woman arrested for sitting in the wrong section of a bus. But, she was more respectable. So, she was chosen to carry the message. Do you want change, or just to air grievances?
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@thagaboi People have been speaking about it for at least 50 yeas. During Vietnam, a lot of GIs came home addicted. Many felt they should be treated as patients, not felons. In LA at least, the cops just ignored most drug use, unless violence resulted. One of the big problems is when the cops were allowed to confiscate and sell anything a drug pusher had, starting in the 80s, the police stopped looking the other way, and arresting anyone they could. There was money in it for them. The war on drugs has become increasingly harsh, so many more people are starting to notice.
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Notice that in the majority of states with initiative processes, it has been legalized, at least for medical purposes. The people want cannabis legalized. Why can't the legislature hear us.
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I'm more concerned with the fact the police are allowed to confiscate all possessions from people, if they can make even a flimsy case that they are selling drugs. Even if a person is innocent, they lose everything, and have to prove they were not selling. It is very difficult to prove a negative.
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Every time I hear someone say that, it makes me glad I preferred pain to the oxycontin my oncologist kept prescribing me.
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Kol hachavod. That means, all honor to you. You deserve to be proud of yourself.
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