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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   42604 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of September 8, 2025

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So their argument is: anyone who would be addicted already is, and the only effect of keeping the drugs illegal is that criminals are in charge of selling and producing them instead of capitalists/entrepreneurs who are above the law, and that there will be less stuff that is spiked/laced because of regulations.

A pretty extreme version of the position, maybe. It doesn't have to be the "only" effect to be worth it. Just the biggest one. Every dollar siphoned from the cartels reduces their capacity. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, as they say.

I think the strongest counterarguments start by observing that people don't handle legal drugs that well. There are something like 15 million alcohol addicts in the States. Not drinkers, addicts. Would legal fentanyl really be less harmful? Or consider tobacco culture. Kids get ahold of this stuff and try it as an edgy symbol of rebellion. Some of them develop the habit. Is that dynamic going to be improved in any way by harder drugs?

Would legal fentanyl really be less harmful? Or consider tobacco culture. Kids get ahold of this stuff and try it as an edgy symbol of rebellion. Some of them develop the habit. Is that dynamic going to be improved in any way by harder drugs?

I'm immediately reminded of this bit from a news story about the overdose death of a 4-year-old girl in Syracuse, NY:

Since 2022, at least four children in Syracuse have died of drug overdoses, including an 11-month-old boy, a 1-year-old girl, a 2-year-old girl and an 11-year-old boy. All of these overdoses involved fentanyl.

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