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I'm not going to claim that nobody was ever harmed by cannabis. But it's a cold, hard fact that alcohol causes much, much more harm, both physically and socially. So why does anyone think they're on the side of the angels when they support using the criminal justice system to coerce people who choose cannabis, while accepting that casual alcohol use is a choice an adult is allowed to make without legal coercion?
This was the point of the roads satire. We accept risk as a cost of freedom there.
Anyone using roads must be arrested and prosecuted, so they're incentivised to get off roads, and get their lives back on track. But those who supply roads need to be hit with the full force of the law, as the organised criminals they are. Profiting from the death and destruction the roads they supply cause to kiwi families.
It's time for a zero tolerance approach to the social and economic damage roads do in our society. Anything less must be condemned as being soft on roads.
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“We talked to psychologists and addiction specialists and our thinking evolved ... If they’re not a threat to society, we don’t need to treat them as criminals.”
#KShanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Law, Singapore, 2024
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx251p55le8o
And yet they do, as the article makes very clear. If someone is Singapore is using cannabis for casual recreation, instead of killing brain cells with alcohol (which is legal), they are imprisoned and psychologically coerced for 6 months.
I'm not going to claim that nobody was ever harmed by cannabis. But it's a cold, hard fact that alcohol causes much, much more harm, both physically and socially. So why does anyone think they're on the side of the angels when they support using the criminal justice system to coerce people who choose cannabis, while accepting that casual alcohol use is a choice an adult is allowed to make without legal coercion?
This was the point of the roads satire. We accept risk as a cost of freedom there.
"Singapore’s zero-tolerance policy doesn’t distinguish between casual drug users and those with an addiction. And although punishment is no longer front and centre of the system, Singapore retains draconian practices - including a legal requirement for doctors to report patients to the authorities if they disclose use of narcotics. This may well deter people from getting help with problematic drug dependency."
#LindaPressly, 2024
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx251p55le8o
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So imagine someone in Singapore using cannabis to deal with chronic pain. Which comes with less risk than liver-attacking painkillers like paracetamol. With infinitely less risk than highly addictive and potentially lethal painkillers like opiates or opioids, which are still routinely prescribed around the world.
Now let's say this person with chronic pain tells their doctor they use cannabis. The doctor has to dob them in, and they'll spend 6 months in a concrete cell with 7-8 others.
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If this same Singaporean drinks heavily to manage their pain, and tells their doctor about that, they're totally fine. Despite the brain and liver injury, and the risk of addiction.
The business selling alcohol is legally safe, despite the massive harm their product could be causing. A supplier of medical cannabis to patients could face the death penalty if they're caught with more than 500g (just over a pound).
The perverse incentives are obvious, and the hypocrisy is staggering.
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@strypey aside from this, roads are explicitly a subsidy for car manufacturers and shipping companies, and use a titanic amount of space in cities where more than a third of people are homeless (paying a rentseeker thousands of dollars a month to not sleep on the street is a kind of homelessness).
*The climate and environmental impact of roads is a shared context I don't need to point out.
@strypey oh, you were being satirical, but I don't really understand the satire
@screwlisp
> I don't really understand the satire
Substitute the word "drugs" for "roads". Clear as mud? : P
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