Did you know that many people take serious pain killers but have no physical trauma to do so?

Only if they are stealing them.

Of course not. That’s too much government for one thing. And each of us should have the right to escape in any way we want as long as others aren’t injured . And there is the rub.

Arrested and imprisoned no. Given better treatment for their anguish, yes.

No. Everyone struggles with how they cope with stress, and I agree with @Aster
As long as one is not harming others people are free to do whatever they want.
This world is so full of survival stress that it’s a wonder there are not more people with extreme addictive behaviors.

Humans strive comfort and pleasure induced state of mind, no mystery there.
Some go for booze, some opiates, some food, some a combo plate of everything.
Nothing is any better or worse than another IMO.

Uh…...yeah…..where have you been in the last 90 years? Did you know cocain, heroin and morphine were sold door to door like Avon back in the day?

No one should go to jail for doing drugs unless they harm someone else while doing so.

Alcoholism is legal.

Marijuana is listed by the Federal government of the US as a more serious, less useful drug than meth.
The President of the US is on record as having tried marijuana, and believing it to be a less serious health and safety hazard that alcohol.

If I were a conspiracy theorist (which I am not), I’d just write it off to the combined forces if the AMA and the pharmaceutical industries. Instead, I believe that the regulations started out well intentioned (like the Temperance movement) and then because the pawn of big business and conservative politics.

They should call it what it really is, a war on drug dealers for not paying taxes.

@cheebdragon

If that were the case then our prisons would be a lot less crowded, since we tend to throw a lot of people in prison just for personal possession.

@cheebdragon ”Did you know cocain, heroin and morphine were sold door to door…”

No Cheeb, all I ever get at my door are those darn Witnesses.

Beyer manufactured “Beyers Heroin drops for infants” back in the late 1880’s. Haha
Takes care of those pesky teething moments.
A lot of people aren’t aware of the MASSIVE amounts of Opiates consumed in the 19th century.
Laudanum, Heroin, Cocaine, Opium, every “elixir” was nothing more than alcohol and opiates.

www.19thcentury.wordpress.com/2008/03/02/laudanum/

@Coloma

Damn, I was born way too late.

@Darth_Algar Haha..me too. “Oooh, I feel a sick headache coming on, where’s my Laudanum?”

@Darth_Algar because they aren’t paying a sales tax on their narcotics purchase.

Arrested and imprisoned seems like quite a stretch unless they were engaging in illegal means to possess them or after consuming them, cause violence to others, themselves or in addition not be able to make sound decisions concerning their well being.

Generally, I don’t think that they should be imprisoned or arrested for the usage, however if it does violate a statute within law, possibly the aforementioned maybe considered.

@cheebdragon

Then why are people still arrested and imprisoned even in states with no sales tax?

We cleaned out the house of a Dr. who’s family had been pharmacists before him. The house had been built in about 1979, but was full of antiques (they had a shop) and collectables. There was a huge cache of old glass apothecary bottles in the basement. At first we were all excited, and I was charged with sorting them I was going through filling boxes (we’re talking about 8, 10, 12”+ bottles) when I came a glass stoppered glass bottle (as they all were) marked ‘Arsenic’. I was like, “Whoa. Just whoa.” We discussed it, and I started being a little more judicious. When I came to a bottle about 10” tall and 4” across ⅔ full and marked “Heroin” I stopped. We didn’t move a single bottle. It was nearly 2 states away. Transporting across state lines and what’s to say some of the others would break, make a noxious gas in the trailer and kill us all when we opened it?

Living profof that they once were very lax about the stuff.

Could be a novel there, ” Arsenic and old Heroin.” lol

It was really pretty scary after I thought about it. Some of that crap was deadly even in trace amounts. Can you imagine of we’d loaded it and had an accident?? EPA Superfund site.

@cheebdragon “They should call it what it really is, a war on drug dealers for not paying taxes.”

I get that. But taxes could be accommodated by legalization.

I think it’s more to do with big pharma lobbyists doing the back door deals to keep recreational substances we can make ourselves from becoming stiff competition.

@Darth_Algar Even without sales tax there is still a penalty fine to collect on.

@cheebdragon

And how much do you figure the state spends on prosecuting a case in comparison to the fine they might collect?

@Darth_Algar lol and who pays for the prosecution of a case?....the people who pay taxes.

@cheebdragon

Yes. The people are the state. Do you have a point there?

I believe the cost to the State to prosecute most drug cases far exceeds any fine they might impose (assuming the person(s) fined ever actually pay the fine.

We’re also ass-uming that pain killers mean only physical pain. Pain killers kill emotional pain too. Duh! lol

Yes, this is true @Coloma That’s why i phrased the question the way I did. I’m glad someone picked up on that.
Most people abusing pain killer who have no physical trauma are using the pain meds to kill their emotional/mental anguish.

Why duh?

@Dan_Lyons I wasn’t directing that at you, just saying “duh”, in case anyone missed the point that drug abuse is always about emotional pain, depression, escapism, etc. unless someone with a physical issue becomes dependent. :-)

The only people who care about not prosecuting drug users are the taxpayers who are funding the entire operation. The judge doesn’t care, the DA, police, none of them care because they are all getting paid, prosecuting an addict just gives them job security. It’s sad that taxpayers have no say in what they pay for.