Pennsylvania Democrat Senate Candidate John Fetterman Wants to “Legalize Heroin” and Fund “Safe Injection Sites”

Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman wants to “legalize heroin” and fund “safe injections sites.”

A recent video of Fetterman saying he wants to release “one-third” of the prison population also just surfaced.

What could possibly go wrong?

John Fetterman, Pennsylvania’s current Lt. Governor who is now the Democrat nominee for US Senate, is one of the most radical Democrat in the senate race.

So,... democrats have that going for them. 😬

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TinyViolins · 31-35, M

To his point, the families of people addicted to drugs are unable or unwilling to seek treatment help for their loved ones because of the likelihood that they'll end up in jail.

The opioid epidemic is ravaging states like his, and the only solution being offered up by Republicans is to lock them up, which only makes rehabilitation less achievable. Tens of thousands of Americans are dying each year from drug overdoses, and those rates are continually rising, so something radical needs to be done.

Portugal is a shining example of what can happen when you decriminalize drugs. In 2001, they decided to legalize drug consumption and adopt safe injection sites in their country. In the 2 decades since, its rate of HIV infection dropped from 104 new cases per million to 4 cases per million. Its drug overdose death rate plummeted to less than 20% of the EU average. Drug usage rates for 15-24 year olds declined the entire time.

In the US, if people are caught with drugs, they are sent to prison instead of rehab. By decriminalizing drugs, you make it so that they can get sent to get the help they need instead of being sent to a concrete cell to become hardened by prison life.

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins Your explanation sounds nice. Please tell me how safe injection sites equal rehab. I believe that's the end result you're seeking is it not? Also, I wonder, does Portugal allow uncontrolled imports of illegal drugs like we have at our southern border currently?

Perhaps a more equitable solution would be to decriminalize asking for help, not using. An addict, possibly brought in by or with his family as you suggest, is not charged if they enter into a drug rehabilitation program and stick with it. If they don't stick with it, they end up in the concrete cell as they have already been hardened even prior to prison life.

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem Safe injection sites prevent the spread of blood-borne diseases that come as a result of needle-sharing. It's more of a public health measure than specifically a rehabilitation one. If they're going to use anyway (which let's face it, drug addicts are not going to let the law stop them), then they might as well use it safely. Hence why Portugal's dramatic decline in HIV rates is so impressive.

People don't really die from alcohol poisoning in bars because it's a place to drink responsibly. Compare it to a frat house where alcohol poisoning and date rape are more prevalent. You can say the same thing about having shooting ranges instead of people letting stray bullets fly off in the nearby woods where other people hike and camp.

The problem with your second paragraph is that many addicts try to hide their activity from their friends and family because of the stigma. Meaning if they get caught with drugs by police, their option to get help is completely taken off the table. That's why in Portugal, if you get caught with less than 10 days supply worth of drugs, the police take you to rehabilitation services instead of a jail cell. It makes it so that they are recommended the help and resources they need even if they don't actually want to kick such an addictive habit.

And last I checked, Pennsylvania is nowhere near the southern border. There are lots of ways to get drugs in and out of a country. Mexico is just a media scapegoat

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins Your last statement is pure BS. I think you know that. Drugs pour over our open southern border. They’re distributed all over the country.

I agree with the less than 10 days approach. Rehab not an injection site.

There is no “responsible” place to inject illegal drugs. If you’re injecting, you’re an addict. As opposed to me stopping for a beer at a local bar.

Removing addicts from using illegal drugs will reduce HIV. Rehab first, then prison if that doesn’t work. But safe spots to inject? Lunacy

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem Drugs get in through Canada as well. They get in by air and sea. They're produced in labs throughout the country. They're also peddled by the pharmaceutical industry, as 12 states and numerous counties actually have more opioid prescriptions than people living in it.

The border issue mostly deflects away from those other facets by conflating it with immigration policy. The heart of the issue is people's usage. Just like the belief that gun control won't stop shootings, border control won't stop drug use.

Once again, safe injection sites are a public health measure. Do you really want addicts roaming the streets while they're high or spreading diseases from sharing needles? The responsible thing to do is to keep the rest of us healthy.

The end goal is to reduce drug use. It's asinine to believe that Democrats want to get even more people addicted to drugs. By decriminalizing drug usage, addicts have a chance to get rehabilitated instead of going to prison or dying alone because they couldn't get the help they needed.

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins I completely disagree. The southern border has drug cartels capitalizing on wide open borders. No where near the numbers of illegal immigrants and drugs come in through Canada. To deny this is happening is idiocy on its face. Your attempts at misdirection are not working on this one. We have a weak president, open borders and an opioid problem larger than any in our history. Add it up kid. Close the border.

Decriminalizing heroine and creating injection sites will not reduce the numbers of people on drugs. Where do you get this nonsense from? This is the same lunacy that thinks eliminating bond will reduce the numbers of crimes. 🤪 Crazy.

I wouldn’t want to live in the hell hole you’re creating. They’ve tried in Portland and look at that mess. I hope PA isn’t stupid enough to fall for this liberal fantasy.

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem From the Portugal example that has been studied for more than 2 decades. Decriminalizing allows people to get help. Safe injection reduces diseases. These are proven facts. Even in Vancouver it's been shown to dramatically reduce the overdose mortality rates, hospitalizations, and HIV transmissions.

I've been to Portland several times in the last four years, and I honestly couldn't tell you what difference if any their policy has made. From what I've read, they're nowhere near as aggressive as they should be in getting people to utilize rehabilitation services. That said, there are a few success stories from this program and it's encouraging to know that it can be built and expanded upon.

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins Portland is a hell hole. Seattle is vying to compete. I’m all for helping people addicted to illegal drugs. But it’s not a victimless crime. Entire neighborhoods are destroyed by homeless encampments populated with addicts.

I’ll tell you what, you live in the fantasyland you’re dreaming about and I’ll live in the one with common sense. The one where people injecting illegal drugs are either remanded to rehabilitation or prison.

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem Have you ever been to either of these places, or do you just trust whatever pops into your Facebook feed? And then you have the nerve to talk about living in a fantasyland.

I spend hours driving around different parts of Seattle every day, and the worst thing I've ever seen is a guy fight a bike. Not a bicyclist, but a literal bike. Just shoved it to the ground and started yelling at it. That's it.

It's far from a hellhole. People take their kids and dogs out for walks, women go for jogs through the city, the homeless keep to themselves, and businesses are booming. What kind of hellhole is that? The only thing one could legitimately complain about is the lack of parking spaces.

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins I’ve been to both. I have close business associates in each. They’re selling their businesses and moving.

Kid, don’t assume I follow the same sources you do. I don’t participate in facebook except for business marketing purposes.

This conversation is no longer bringing value and is now over.

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem For what it's worth, your conversation has never brought value. You only exist to be a contrarian. You have no real solutions to offer

carpediem · 61-69, M

@TinyViolins Uh huh. I expected that from you. Any view besides your own is wrong. Thanks for not disappointing. 🙄

TinyViolins · 31-35, M

@carpediem So you're seriously going to just ignore 2 decades of an entire nation's data showing the success of such an initiative just because a Democrat suggested trying the same thing here? Because that's exactly what a contrarian would do. Go against established facts because they don't align with pre-existing beliefs

where people injecting illegal drugs are either remanded to rehabilitation or prison.

What do you think has been going on for the last 50 years since the War on Drugs was started? People getting away with a slap on the wrist or given a trophy?