So, I’m scrolling through the news today and reading this piece on CNN, claiming there’s "no ban" in place. Turns out, the reporters completely butchered what the Deputy Secretary actually said. 😬 🤣
I agree, but the real question is how they plan on actually enforcing that law. I mean, we already have laws against selling booze and cigarettes to anyone under 21, and yet... ☕
Edward Green said:Smoking was considered absolute poison back then. Fast forward just two years, and they were all doing every single thing imaginable. Well, everyone except Edward Green. 😬
Back in my elementary school days, I had about ten girls in my class, and not a single one of them touched a cigarette. 😬 I’m honestly having to count on one hand the number of people left who actually don't smoke.
Honestly, back in elementary school, I was such a little angel. 🙂 I broke down right in the middle of my junior year. And of course, it had to happen right when things were finally starting to pick up. 😬
Honestly, in this day and age, if a second grader doesn't already grasp that picking up a cigarette, smoking, or doing drugs is a terrible idea, they must have been raised in a vacuum. 😉
It’s like they’re constantly being bombarded from every single angle with these endless lectures about how it's harmful, blah blah blah.
And another thing: whenever I see those cheesy "sports against drugs" campaigns and similar nonsense 🤣 🙂, it honestly makes me want to go out and get high just out of spite. What a complete joke. 🙂 😬
Edward Green said:victims of drunk drivers or just plain lunatics
Why are you obsessing over drunk drivers so much? 😬 Let me give you some perspective. We’d probably see fewer casualties from drunk driving if we just had dedicated "safe drinking lounges" where alcoholics could show up with their booze, get hammered, take a quick nap... and then wake up, grab a coffee, and head home stone-cold sober.
It’s the same logic: if some maniac tries to jump you with a knife one day, does it really matter for your immediate survival whether that guy was getting high in a supervised safe room thirty minutes earlier? I highly doubt it.
I honestly don't get it—if we’re supposedly obsessed with prevention, why aren't we actually practicing real prevention?
What I mean is, why aren't we focusing on reducing the number of people who start using in the first place, rather than just trying to lower the body count of addicts dying from overdoses or whatever else?
This isn't prevention; it's just damage control.
So, picture this... someone is in one of those safe injection sites using drugs. Is anyone actually going to step up and suggest they go to rehab? Or will they just let them shoot up in peace without bothering them? And even if someone did try to intervene, wouldn't that just annoy them enough to make them stop showing up altogether? 😁
Edward Green said:I wasn't talking about AIDS, I was talking about HIV. I was responding to stormywolf39's post, which mentioned... let me guess... yeah, you're right.. 😉HIV.
Whatever. If they've contracted HIV, they could just die.
Because honestly, before they could even start treatment, they'd probably have to kick their drug habit first.
I don't even want to imagine how an HIV cocktail would react with heroin.😁
Edward Green said:You can't kill an idea once it's out in the world.
What exactly were you trying to get at? 🤔
In my extended family, there was this one situation involving an addict who ended up contracting HIV during their period of heavy drug use. Those were the wild years.
And what exactly am I trying to get across here?
Yeah, that person passed away years later. From the sidelines, too. Yeah.
Edward Green said:That’s the only way. When you’re talking about the thin line between life and death, there really isn't any other way. Forgive me if I'm misinterpreting, but aren't you a med student? Why act like there's an alternative when the absolute best you can do is just try to save a life?
😕
I was simply pointing out that any professional staff working on-site would essentially lack control over whatever substances are being brought into IBM. [Unless, of course, they hired some chemist specifically for quality control. 😉]
How are they supposed to know what someone is carrying or what kind of ammo they're using?
Which means we could still end up with an overdose, but at least the medical staff would actually be there to perform resuscitation. What part of that is unclear?
Edward Green said:Trying to lecture someone undergoing their tenth round of chemo by telling them they might as well stick their head in a gun barrel is just cruel; if they actually pull through, their body will be so trashed from the treatment anyway that they won't have much life left to live regardless.
Why are you comparing apples to oranges?
Someone going through chemotherapy is doing it because they’re fighting a devastating illness through no fault of their own, and they're doing it to save their life..
Now, someone using heroin? Why do they do that? To save a life? To "improve" their quality of life? Yeah, give me a break.
You simply cannot make that comparison.
It's the same logic as saying there's no difference between someone whose liver fails due to a genetic disease and someone who develops cirrhosis from heavy drinking. In my book, those aren't even in the same universe.
Edward Green said:Hey, stormywolf39, what’s your take on people with intellectual disabilities, Down syndrome, or those struggling with mental illness?
Look, we could choose to pour our tax dollars into supporting those groups, but there's no obligation. 😉 We have other options... for where that money actually goes.
Edward Green said:Sterile equipment isn't going to transmit HIV.
:grizenokte: I’ve got a few things to throw into the ring here. What about the people who have already caught some kind of virus? A sanitized room isn't going to do a damn thing for them.
And honestly, what does it matter if they have expert staff on hand if the patient walks in carrying a nasty pathogen themselves? Fine, maybe I can help by resuscitating him if things go south, but that's it.😬 Plus, what kind of "specialized staff" are we even talking about? Are these just volunteers, or would doctors from a place like Mayo Clinic be trekking out there? When? On their days off? And who’s footing the bill? Or would they just hire people specifically to work those shifts?
My whole point is that our government is basically broke and struggling to stay afloat 😁 and I’d much rather prioritize funding specific patient groups [like, I don't know, blowing the budget on mammogram machines and other useless gadgets nobody actually needs, you know?] instead. We can worry about everything else once we reach a higher level of development and actually have a surplus in the federal budget. [Just like Denys was saying.]
So, fine, I'll pivot my thesis: maybe we should just hand out free drugs to everyone so we can all forget this brutal reality. 😢 😁 long live ssi-users! 🎉
Anyway, I'm slowly 🙂 heading out from this thread. 👋
i... once they crash after being high, the complaining starts. if you managed to kick one habit, you can certainly tackle another. I honestly think that first step was the hardest part anyway. Unless, of course, I'm totally off base here.
all I'm saying is, if you were brave enough to seek help for one thing, why wouldn't you do the same for something else?
John Adams4 said:Exactly, we should be aiming to improve ourselves rather than just getting worse, shouldn't we?
Sure, but let's fix our own house first. 😉 We don't exactly have money to throw around, and I highly doubt "providing safe drug access for addicts" is sitting at the top of our national priority list right now.
amberorca192 said:I spent eight years riding the rails, and not a single person in my social circle or my family had any clue. There was no support system available because I never once sat them down and said, "Look, I have a problem... I'm hooked on this lifestyle."
Sure, maybe I’ve known someone who struggled with addiction too. But then I watch them stumble obviously straight from one disaster into another—like swapping one substance for alcohol—and I realize I'm powerless to stop it. It's just a cycle of jumping from one pit to the next. So what's the endgame there? How much time am I supposed to waste exhausting myself trying to save someone who has absolutely no intention of saving themselves? 😕