Yes, Ron Paul is bad.

[RainDog]

160. two different issues

if a group is targeted - this is one way they are targeted. I was talking about history - hundred years ago or so, to talk about why certain things become bad while others that are more harmful remain good - or tolerated- in a society.

I agree that heroin is not good. I don't want people to use it for their own sakes, but a punishment model for drug addiction is not as effective or humane as a harm reduction model.

This is something that people have learned over the years about alcohol addiction. We no longer think that people who have a problem with alcohol are evil - we think they have a disease that can be treated. Yes, if their addiction results in behaviors that harm others, they are punished for this - but they are not punished for having the disease itself. They do not have to acquire their drug from illegal sources who use violence to settle disputes because they have no recourse to courts.

Prohibition taught us that it is worse than the problem it sought to fix, imo. Alcohol isn't some special case - it's like other substances that some people cannot use in moderation b/c of their own physical reaction to it - not because they want to be a criminal.

Doctors regularly prescribe opiates for pain for certain situations - they are not being evil, not trying to get someone addicted - they are using part of the medicine currently available to them. Even so, someone can develop dependence. We don't call that person a criminal - they are a person who has a medical problem. Who thinks we should toss someone in jail if he or she had back surgery and comes to rely upon opiates for pain relief? No sane person that I know. But we do try to have the sorts of medical care that can help to wean them off this substance for their own health - not to punish them for their use.

That's the difference between a criminal model and a harm reduction one.