Being found dead with a needle in your arm is not a human right [View all]
I've read posts today stating that all drugs should be legal, and Philip Seymour Hoffman is the only one to blame for his addiction problems, and that the problem isn't that there are too many addictive fatal drugs, but that there aren't enough.
That's all bullshit. It's RW libertarian Paulist crap. Democrats and liberals are supposed to be better than that. We're supposed to care about each other. This includes protecting each other from being found dead in our homes with needles sticking out of our arms. The irony of it all is that the people arguing for the right to die by needle also argue for soda bans, smoking bans, circumcision bans, plastic bag bans, alcohol bans, and even revoking licenses from the elderly.
Your idealistic "legalize all drugs" rants might feel good to say, but they have consequences that include the deaths of thousands every year.
The following represents a snapshot of the most current statistics available concern heroin addictions and heroin overdose.
In England in 2008, there were 897 overdose deaths that involved heroin. That figure was up dramatically (11%) from the previous year.
Around the world, men and women over the age of 35 have seen their heroin overdose rates grow by double-digits in each of the past two years.
Over 3.5 million people in the United States (over the age of 12) report having a heroin experience at least once in their lives.
Heroin overdose played a role in over 164,000 emergency room visits in 2006 across the United States.
The average heroin addict now spends between $150 – $200 per day to support his or her drug habit.
Men are slightly more likely to develop a heroin addiction than women.
Heroin and morphine accounted for 51% of all drug overdose deaths in the United States in the year 1999. That number has fallen in recent years but the rate remains significant.
http://heroin.net/heroin-effects/heroin-overdose-statistics
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