Re: Drug dealers sentence
Originally Posted by
keezoy
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OK.My last couple of posts were a bit of black humour. Sorry. This isn;t a humorous subject. So, do you mind if I ask you a couple of questions about this?..It's only for the sake of discussion. YOu are entitled to your opinion of course.But.. firstly, does your opening sentence mean that there is never coercion on the part of dealers?.More importantly with respect to the second part of your post, could you elaborate on what you mean by "deal harshly with users" ? There are many different kinds of drug users. They are of all ages from young teenagers to octagenarians and older. The oldest heroin user I ever knew of (professionally) was in her mid eighties. Some confessions. I used to share the odd joint with my surfer friends on the beach. I have played in bands and used drugs in my younger days., I used cannabis and acid at University. I have used grass over the years but not since aroind 10 years ago. I tried heroin once. Never again. I was never much of a drinker. So, what would you do with me? What level of harshness could I expect if you could decide back then. Not knowing anything else about me.? JUst curious.
First of all, of course dealers need to be dealt with harshly and of course they try to entice people into using drugs.
But there seems to be too much onus on them being punished, and not enough on those who keep them in business. Rarely is anyone prosecuted for having drugs on them for "personal use". This is, IMHO, a large part of the problem. Buying drugs is simply adding to the problem as it feeds the whole supply chain.
Anyone, and I mean anyone, who is caught with ANY form of illicit drug on them needs to be dealt with properly. This could include on the spot fines, a requirement to attend courses to explain why their actions are so damaging, up to incarceration.
Think of other offences. Driving over the speed limit is rarely overlooked, with automatic fines, penalty points (which affect insurance premiums), awareness courses, possible loss of employment and sometimes imprisonment. Why? Because speeding is viewed as potentially dangerous, not only for the person speeding, but others.
Why then, is speeding dealt with more harshly than owning/using drugs?
It just seems to make sense that if we can make the demand for drugs smaller by making the prospect of even carrying or using them more unappealing (to say the least), then the whole problem becomes smaller.