Yeah for prison reform!

@Graylight They mentioned mental health in the reform but it was a little broad. I guess it's giving that to the Senate to kind of fix since they always change everything haha

@Graylight so we should let drug dealer and addicts run around free. Lock every last one of their asses up and throw away the key

They need to reform those White Collar Prisons ? Who knew 🤷‍♂️

@Mountainlady16 Addiction is an affliction, not a condition of evil. What does locking people away forever accomplish?

And where in the NT did Jesus ever advocate that?

@Graylight addiction is an excuse to perform a crime. Many people also use mental illness calling it self medicating with drugs as an excuse. And than in the next breath the liberals want to legalize what is in many ways a gateway drug

@Mountainlady16 The US has been locking up people for simple possession and the problem is worse than ever.

Meanwhile, the people who started the opioid crisis at Purdue Pharma lied to the FDA about how addictive oxycontin is, and buried information about an early crisis. None of them are in jail.

Maybe we need to shift priorities.

The opioid epidemic ? @Mountainlady16

@Mountainlady16 Weed is a gateway drug - to munchies 😂

Legalizing means that people don't go to dealers anymore. Connections with the underworld - now that's the real gateway. These days I don't even know where to find [i]real[/i] drugs. Back in college, if I wanted shrooms or something, I'd ask my weed guy. But who the hell has one now?

@CountScrofula simple possession if not nixed in the butt can lead to more crimes. And there's no evidence that the legalisation of recreational marijuana has led to less drug problems

@QuixoticSoul weed is an addictive drug that leads to harder drugs. Many people also self medicate their mental illness issues with weed which is one worse things you can do besides maybe drinking

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others." Animal Farm
George Orwell 1945

@CountScrofula

@Mountainlady16 "weed is an addictive drug that leads to harder drugs. Many people also self medicate their mental illness issues with weed which is one worse things you can do besides maybe drinking"

Where did you learn this?

@CountScrofula from mental health support group I attend. Many people with mental illness also has drug addiction issues

@Mountainlady16 You are wrong.

@QuixoticSoul about what that it's a gateway drug or that many people with mental illness use it as a way to self medicate

@Mountainlady16 My wife has cannabis prescribed for her anxiety by a doctor.

It's literally medicine. Most drugs have medicinal value.

@CountScrofula anxiety is one thing but other more severe mental illness is another.

@Mountainlady16 People with severe mental illnesses probably need really good treatment and free access to doctors and correct medication then so they aren't self-medicating. Right?

@CountScrofula and many other Dr's will not prescribe that because it's a depressant

@Mountainlady16 ... all anti-anxiety drugs are depressants. You think people who have anxiety should be given stimulants?

@CountScrofula really because both GA and TN has statewide programs that help low income see drs at clinics and often times have low cost meds and many free meds but many still refuse to get treated

@Mountainlady16 Weed is not a gateway drug. It is the most common recreational drug in America, and it's not surprising that many people who go on to do hard drugs try it first. But they also try alcohol and caffeine first.

An overwhelming number of people who smoke weed don't move on to anything else, and even DARE acknowledges that at this point.

@Mountainlady16 Marijuana is physiologically addictive in less than 10% of the population. It's not considered a depressant. As to it being a "gateway" drug, there's no such thing. A religious - based "mental health" course is not science.

Legalization of mafijuana might reduce its stigma, leading to reduced crime and increased mental health treatment. Know a bit about a topic before you preach on it.

@Mountainlady16 Look...

I respectfully submit that you are just repeating a bunch of conservative talking points about cannabis made up by scared old people.

Arm yourself with knowledge from scientists and doctors, not from pundits and politicians.

Many states, and now all of Canada legalized recreational use because it's largely harmless and importantly, banning it NEVER WORKED.

I think we should get the nanny state out of our homes so that the government stops telling me what I can and can't do with my body. Maybe you want the government telling you what to do all the time, but I actually prefer more personal freedoms than that.

After work, I'm going to smoke a giant legal Canadian joint because I've had a hard week, and then sleep well tonight. I will then go back to my job on Monday and continue as a normal healthy member of society - even if you would put me in jail for the rest of my life for my "horrible crimes".