Criminalisation of drugs, how have you been affected?

Ben@YouthRISE

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Jun 22, 2012
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"How has your life been impacted by drug policies? Have you or someone close to you been arrested and imprisoned for possessing drugs? Have you or anyone you know been denied education or employment opportunities because of a drug conviction? Have you found yourself engaging in high risk behaviours because of the fear of being arrested? Have you experienced human rights violations when being detained for drugs offences?

Youth RISE is collecting stories of how young peoples development is impacted by the criminalisation of drugs and through punitive drug policies. We will be sharing these stories via our website to support an upcoming campaign challenging the criminalisation of young people who use drugs.

If you would like to contribute your story or the story of someone you know or would like to know more about the campaign, please contact [email protected] or [email protected] for more information. The stories can be submitted anonymously and any names can be changed if requested.

Thanks and look forward to hearing from you"
 
Sorry this is the first post, but I've been able to fly under the radar with my legal and illegal drug use. But, I'm a middle-class white male. Once, I was pulled over for a problem with my tags on a recently purchased car. I had been smoking ganja moments earlier and was hung over on my way home from a party the night before. Now, had my ass been black, I'd be willing to bet that my hands shaking and my weird behavior woulda had me yanked outta that car and searched. I know I've benefited from being a white male, but I'm not proud of it, and I am vocally against the way drug offenses are disproportionately prosecuted for minorities and the poor.

I'd like to volunteer my services for your effort. Let me know if you think I can help.
 
I'm a Mexican male and I've had plenty of friends get arrested for possession but I've been lucky enough to stay out of jail and fines.
 
All the time man, every other other day I hear someone's been beaten up, busted etc etc. Just goes on and on. It's retarded, the government should back the fuck off and leave us in peace, and instead of bringing up a crapload of fat cops with an IQ of a retarded cockroach, they should spend that money on healthcare and deal with economic problems.
 
My son was in 9th grade last year from he caught smoking weed at school. The case worker eventually referred us to drug court when he got busted with a bowl and expelled. He kept testing dirty (didn't listen) and the judge made him go to rehab. It was either that or go to jail. He is stuck at this hospital for 6 months and there's nothing I can do about it. His probation officer lied to us and said if he makes good progress, he can spend less time there. He lied. The hospital is making big bucks off these kids. This whole system makes me sick.

p.s. My computer couldn't access that site- I keep getting a windows error
 
Really nice work Ben. The sensible drug using population need people like you
 
Is this only based in the US? or is it a global thing? My computer couldn't access the site either :(

1st time visiting this part of the forum
 
This is a good idea,but I don't think it goes far enough.The ultimate goal,after all,is to put the cartels out of business,and if you don't legalize across the board,they will continue to sell what is still illegal.
 
^Sure but, If they legalized all the good stuff, the dealers would be forced to sell obscure drugs that most wouldn't even think about getting. What you'd have then is, hipster dealers selling obscure and utterly uncool drugs to hipsters. Hipsters would become a problem, and perhaps even illegal. Hah! A win-win situation if you ask me.
 
Ive been through multiple adverse situations due to drug policy. I was charged with a felony at the age of 18 for having 8 small sacks of herb. I have been called a druggie a drug addict a piece of shit stoner you name it. And for ever am I worried about having a good job and losing it because of a random drug test or not being able to get one in general with hiding my true piss with someone elses or a bottle of detox. Lesson of the story harsh and unfound drug laws do more damage then good point blank.
 
Criminalization killed my friend.

It's made me a less healthy person.
It's ruined my reputation with a lot of people.

But I don't disagree with it fully.
 
Not being directly affected in terms of any trouble with the law.

Although it's certainly caused me an immense amount of pain, I have OCD, which makes it very difficult for me to dismiss the thought that the government of my own country wants to hurt me, smash all my dreams and ruin my life just for peacefully being who I am, and pursuing what I think is a legitimate aspect of the human existence I'm still quite young and have my whole life ahead of me, I want to work in scientific research and I'm worried it can all die in a heartbeat from laws written by ignorant nazi bigots

It gives me great anxiety, anger and lowered self-esteem.
 
Criminalization killed my step sister's boyfriend. He died of a heroin OD some years ago.
It also fucked up my step sister's life.

What they need to do is to follow the abortion protocol and just fucking legalise EVERYTHING - with exception for the potent hallucinogens. I know of someone who threatened a dozen or so people while tripping on LSD, and one of his victims suffers from long-term anxiety from their ordeal.

Opiates, benzos, amphetamines, etc, legalise the lot. I can't be bothered explaining why it would be a good idea - common sense would tell you why, cutting costs, reducing population in the clink, and freeing up resources for real police work and no this asshattery that we're seeing too much of.

Strangely enough a lot of people think that abortion is murder, yet there has been no attempts whatsoever to criminalize it like they do with drugs and RCs all the time - except in the case where a boyfriend/other person assaults the woman and causes death of the fetus, then they call it murder. I don't call it anything other than rank hypocrisy. And no, I'm not a misogynist. Yes, I do support it, but only because I believe it is cruel to force someone to have a baby against their will.

Likewise I think it is cruel to force someone who suffers from severe depression and anxiety or other major mental problem to suffer in silence and deny them the chance to participate in better living through chemistry (ie, drugs). I follow the hedonist imperative, which can be found on the net by google-fu. They mention all of this shit and it makes perfect sense.

What they really need to do is to rewrite the entire verebrate genome and ELIMINATE suffering ALTOGETHER. Then mental illnesses, Asperger's, depression, anxiety, autism, won't fucking matter one iota.
 
I've been convicted of possession of Class A drugs, possession of drug utensils, and driving under the influence of drugs, among other things. I regret the charge of driving under the influence as it goes against my own morals - that was a bad decision on my part, but I don't agree with the charges of possession and the criminalisation of drugs. It all comes down to personal freedom and personal responsibility. I should have the freedom to use any substance I like, providing it doesn't directly harm other people or put them at risk. I have luckily avoided serving time in prison (my country doesn't have mandatory sentencing like the USA does) but I have still received fines, probation, and court ordered drug counseling. I'm unemployed due to medical reasons, but my criminal record will make it even harder to find employment. I've known many people who have served prison time though, and the majority of them returned to drugs once they were released, which shows prison isn't really much of a deterrent.
 
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