Oregon plans to 'de-felonize' most drugs
With the outright failure that is this thing we Americans call "the war on drugs", states are seeking alternatives to punishing drug users with long prison sentences, and criminal records that make it difficult for someone labeled a felon to reintegrate into society. Very often, we are punishing addicts for being addicted, and while I'm not usually one to defend addiction, I still don't believe we should be caging people who have done no harm to anyone but themselves.
Oregon sees this problem, and the state's legislature has just passed House Bill 2355, which would move the state in the direction of treatment over punishment. They are now ready to be handed to Governor Kate Brown, who is expected to pass it.
The bill's main goal is to require law enforcement to gather data on age, sex, ethnicity, and race during all traffic and pedestrian stops. This data will be passed to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission, then the Department of Public Safety Standards to scrutinize any instances of profiling that may exist in agencies across the state.
Many media outlets have been quick to use the word "decriminalize" when talking about this bill, but that's not at all what it does. It essentially drops the penalty for possession level amounts of narcotics to a misdemeanor from a felony, meaning if you get caught with dumb shit like heroin or meth, you're likely still going to jail, you just won't become a felon in a society where that can be no better than a death sentence.
This is a big step in the right direction in my opinion. If someone wants to ingest something, and isn't harming anyone else by doing so, they should have the right to do so. The governments of the world are far too concerned with what someone is doing in their own home or on their own time.
This is a little different from my normal kind of post, but if you'd like to read more articles like this, let me know!
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The drug epidemic is a very scary issue down here in Florida as I assume in most states. Part of me hopes Oregon finds a way to help these people out. Another part of me knows a drug addicts will do, and say whatever is necessary to get themselves to their next high. Sadly if a person does not want to get better they will convince themselves to go along with things till they can get their hands on what they want. It is heartbreaking seeing the damage that is being done to society.
I live in Kentucky myself, and it's really bad here too. Last year brought a lot of deaths from overdoses. Its crazy the kinds of things people will put in themselves to make the pain of life go away, but it's not mine or the governments place to tell them they shouldn't, so long as they aren't harming anyone else.
I’ve lost friends and family to that junk. I hope to never be in a point in my life where I’ll truly understand why they choose to go down that path. Because then I myself would be going down that path as well.
I completely understand why someone would, but I refuse to even try certain drugs, because I know what kind of person it would turn me into.
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