Sunday, April 25, 2010
Wall Street's Bailout Hustle
When Dr. Jerry Pournelle, an Opus Dei member and genuine rocket scientist, and Rolling Stone, the preeminent rock magazine, both agree we're about to be swindled, again, by Wall Street, it's worth a read.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Drug War Won in Portugal by decriminalization
Portugal decriminalized all drug possession in 2001 [time.com], and since then:
"(A) Cato (Institute) paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well."
Why are we inflicting very expensive criminality on these losers who are addicted to the abuse drugs inflict on them? When treatment is a much more effective and much less expensive solution than jail?
Why do we inflict the War on Drugs on Mexico, a war which kills many innocents as well as costing us an obscene amount of money better spent?
Do the math; look at those numbers, and tell me why?
"(A) Cato (Institute) paper reports that between 2001 and 2006 in Portugal, rates of lifetime use of any illegal drug among seventh through ninth graders fell from 14.1% to 10.6%; drug use in older teens also declined. Lifetime heroin use among 16-to-18-year-olds fell from 2.5% to 1.8% (although there was a slight increase in marijuana use in that age group). New HIV infections in drug users fell by 17% between 1999 and 2003, and deaths related to heroin and similar drugs were cut by more than half. In addition, the number of people on methadone and buprenorphine treatment for drug addiction rose to 14,877 from 6,040, after decriminalization, and money saved on enforcement allowed for increased funding of drug-free treatment as well."
Why are we inflicting very expensive criminality on these losers who are addicted to the abuse drugs inflict on them? When treatment is a much more effective and much less expensive solution than jail?
Why do we inflict the War on Drugs on Mexico, a war which kills many innocents as well as costing us an obscene amount of money better spent?
Do the math; look at those numbers, and tell me why?
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