Well, I just finished jury duty on a civil court case. I honestly hope that is my last entanglement with our byzantine justice system. The judge kinda reminded me of the judge in Ghostbusters II but not quite so fiery. I think I understand why people hate lawyers so much, they like to split hairs over “the letter of the law” and they use really underhanded persuasion tactics. This isn’t an appropriate forum to go into the details of the case, but I will say that I felt strongly that the plaintiff is a part of a demographic that tends to get railroaded by our legal system and does not receive the representation that the more affluent have access to.
Anyway, it got me to thinking about the criminalization of drug use and what a ham-fisted approach it is. I read an intriguing article in People magazine a ways back in which Matthew Perry discussed his vicodin (and alcohol) abuse and the need for a parallel legal process for small-time drug offenders that would basically be rehabilitation-based rather than jail time. I personally think this is worth a try because the current system (incarceration) does not serve as a deterrent to addicts. My conditions would be 1) it would not apply to drug offenses involving violent crime 2) it would not apply to drug traffickers (cutoff quantity TBD by appropriate legal means). These two groups must be treated like the criminals they are. People busted for simple possession should instead be required to go to a rehab program, although I haven’t given that much thought to the details.
I realize this is an unpopular approach for many, as it smacks of being “soft on crime”. And of course, feigning outrage over perceived misuse of tax dollars is everybody’s favorite game to play. I realize there are a great many users who are absolutely incorrigible and will abuse the system.
It will be interesting to see how Portugal’s experiment with decriminalization goes, although their economy is such a shitshow right now which doesn’t really help their case too much. Over here I think the idea is a pipe dream, it’s just too radioactive for politicians to touch without running the risk of being smeared. It’s a tough cookie, no easy solutions.
Anyway, it got me to thinking about the criminalization of drug use and what a ham-fisted approach it is. I read an intriguing article in People magazine a ways back in which Matthew Perry discussed his vicodin (and alcohol) abuse and the need for a parallel legal process for small-time drug offenders that would basically be rehabilitation-based rather than jail time. I personally think this is worth a try because the current system (incarceration) does not serve as a deterrent to addicts. My conditions would be 1) it would not apply to drug offenses involving violent crime 2) it would not apply to drug traffickers (cutoff quantity TBD by appropriate legal means). These two groups must be treated like the criminals they are. People busted for simple possession should instead be required to go to a rehab program, although I haven’t given that much thought to the details.
I realize this is an unpopular approach for many, as it smacks of being “soft on crime”. And of course, feigning outrage over perceived misuse of tax dollars is everybody’s favorite game to play. I realize there are a great many users who are absolutely incorrigible and will abuse the system.
It will be interesting to see how Portugal’s experiment with decriminalization goes, although their economy is such a shitshow right now which doesn’t really help their case too much. Over here I think the idea is a pipe dream, it’s just too radioactive for politicians to touch without running the risk of being smeared. It’s a tough cookie, no easy solutions.