Seems to me that his opposition to drugs stems from personal experience, having seen first-hand what life with an actual addict is life, and from dealing with users, dealers and the rest of the criminal activity resultant from drug activity
Here's a little of my experience.
One night, fresh out of a detox, I shot up two bags of dope with a friend.
Two was a little too much, and I passed out and collapsed, either in a subway station, or on the train (I'm not sure). Some good soul must have dialed 911, because the next thing I knew, I woke up in the back of an ambulance, in a state of delirium. They brought me to the ER, and after laying on a stretcher for a couple of hours, I walked out and went home.
When I got home, I shot up again. My family, my ex wife, and my friends had to put up with this for almost 20 years, you'd have to ask them what it was like for them.
A few months later, the same thing happened to my friend. No one was around to dial 911, and he's no longer with us.
I know one person who amputated one of his limbs with a coping saw, in a cocaine induced psychosis.
I've known many dealers, some were pure scumbags, and others were just addicts trying to support their own habit.
I will not go into any detail regarding my criminal activities, other than I'm grateful I don't have to engage in any anymore.
I'm very lucky, because I come from fairly wealthy family, who helped me pay for several treatments. Most addicts aren't so lucky. I also consider myself extremely lucky that I never tried meth.
My credibility does not come from internet links. Neither does my experience.
Yeah, mine neither. Yet I still believe that treating the problem as a criminal problem, and not a medical/social problem, does more harm than good. Don't confuse that with condoning drug use.
Powderman,
I have no doubt you have seen a lot of suffering as the result of drug use.
Regardless of whether or not I believe you let your emotions get in the way of reality, you have a right to believe what you do.
What I question is this. What has the war on drugs done to
1) Help addicts that want help receive it.
2) Reduce crime.
3) Prevent kids from using drugs.
4) Reduce the overall harm caused by drugs.
Would it not be better if we quit fighting an endless, unwinnable battle, and put the vast, wasted resources towards providing realistic help for people that need (want) it? Does treating them as criminals help them?
As I have stated before, science has yet to even find out what causes addiction, let alone the best ways to treat it, but instead of doing research,
we fight this so called "war", which has more to do with politics and money that any individual's quality of life.