Rising GOP support for the U.S. taking unilateral military action in Mexico against drug cartels is increasingly rattling people on both sides of the border who worry talk of an attack is getting normalized.

Wednesday’s Republican presidential primary debate featured high-stakes policy disagreements on a range of issues from abortion to the environment — but found near-unanimous consensus on the idea of using American military force to fight drug smuggling and migration.

  • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    That’s a naive view. Do you think cartels will dismiss themselves at that point? Or that mobs will somehow become lawful citizens?

    Also, do you think there is a positive scenario of consuming cocaine or opiates? Those drugs induce heavy addiction and take a great toll from your mind and body.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Leave those cases to medical professionals. They already have access to opiates, by the way.

        Question is can you respond without moving the goal posts you set because if you used such a tactic I would block you for not being a serious adult.

        That doesn’t sound very mature of you.

        And the topic is very complex and had more than one aspect. One of them - cartels. Another - drugs they sell.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Alcohol - yes. Though it seems there are ways of consuming it without getting addiction. And that’s not the case with cocaine and opiates.

        Sugar - not so much. Addiction and physical harm is real, but not on the same level. Also it’s very hard to effectively forbid sugar. I think it’s unreal.

        • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
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          1 year ago

          you falsely assume all users of cocaine and opiates to be addicted. If that would be the case, then medical use wouldnt be possible.

          These substances are very addictive and need to be treated with great respect and caution. Something that is not possible in the environment created by their criminalization.

          • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            These substances are very addictive and need to be treated with great respect and caution.

            Exactly. They are dangerous to the level I don’t trust ordinary people to use them, only medical professionals

            • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
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              1 year ago

              criminalization fails to prevent use by “ordinary people”.

              It is the same like with sex ed. People who teach their teenagers about the risks and how to minimize them have much better success at preventing teen pregnancy or stds for their children than those that go the “wait till marriage or go to hell!” way.

              In the same way countries that have introduced programs for harm reduction like drug checking, consume rooms, needle exchanges etc. suffer much less drug related deaths, or problems like HIV and Hep C.

              But you cannot do harm reduction, social care and addiction prevention in an environment where the only people that drug users can talk about drugs with are other users and dealers.

      • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        It would be trivial to harm their business by undercutting prices and making drug use safe in sanctioned areas. Reducing their cash flow is paramount to reducing their power. That can be easily done by legalizing and regulating drugs.

        Then they will gladly offer drugs to anybody who is disqualified to get it legally. And anywhere, not only in sanctioned area. And / or will offer “more potent”, but illegal forms of drugs.
        As you mentioned, it’s organised institutions. They won’t go away peacefully.

        Would you do crack or heroine just because it is legal? I wouldn’t.

        I won’t too. But it’s just anecdotes. People are always looking for new pleasures. Where do you think new opiate users comes from?

        • medgremlin@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          New (street) opiate users usually come from people who have had mismanaged chronic pain conditions because of the absolutely horrific campaign by the pharmaceutical companies to push opioids. If we had better, non-pharmaceutical pain management programs involving stuff like physical therapy and mental healthcare, then there would be more viable options than opioids. Also, modifying the medical system to be more accessible so people can get care before something becomes a chronic pain problem would be helpful.

          The other necessary modification is to change the system so that doctors can spend more than ten minutes with each patient, but that would require an overhaul of the medical education system from undergrad through residency to create more physicians.

    • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      You are exactly correct. We can legalize and sell marijuana (and certain other drugs, probably psychadelics. That’s for experts to decide.) like is already being done, but you simply cannot have recreational use of drugs like narcotics and cocaine.

      They are simply too irresistible. It would lead to a massive public health crisis with phenomenal social consequences and so, so much death.

      Now, I think drug abuse needs to be treated not criminally, but as the health issue that it is.

      However, there will still be demand, and that will have to be fulfilled illicitly.

      • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
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        1 year ago

        The idea that Cocaine is simpy too irresistible is not convincing to me. As a matter of fact availability is not really an issue, yet most people are not cocaine addicts. Also of regular users the majority is not addicted in the sense of needing it daily. Further it is much easier to develop problematic drug use patterns, like with any addictive things, when it is socially taboo, so people cannot talk about it with people outside of their circle of users and hide it from friends and family.

        Addiction always is a social and psychological issue, whether it is cocaine, gambling or video games. Getting it out of the taboo is an important step to lower addiction.

        • PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I didn’t say most people are addicts.

          What would happen, though, is there would be a great deal more addicts.

        • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          Cocaine isn’t really as available as you, it seems, trying to show. Weed was / is.

          If cocaine will become drug of choice instead of weed, consequences will be dire.

            • Llewellyn@lemm.ee
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              1 year ago

              We have quite different understanding of “available everywhere to anybody”, apparently. Stop exaggerating.

          • tryptaminev 🇵🇸 🇺🇦 🇪🇺@feddit.de
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            1 year ago

            You will find a cocaine dealer in every mid sized town. It is not difficult to get hooked up with any drug in most places, be it weed, cocaine or opiates. Availability is not the limitinf factor to consumption or addiction in the same way it isnt for weed.