
The Walter White of Wichita (2016) - bspn
http://interactive.fusion.net/death-by-fentanyl/the-walter-white-of-wichita.html
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pietroglyph
> Then came the 1970s and the drug war. “Oh my goodness, now I have a
> business,” he thought.

This guy is pretty interesting (and it's disappointing that he didn't do
something more constructive with his skills), but this quote stood out the
most to me. If you start limiting supply but not curtailing demand (e.g. a
drug war), it makes it a lot more profitable to sell. And all that money makes
it a lot easier for the sellers to become big and organized and dangerous.

I'm sure it's not that simple, but it really makes me wonder what would happen
with widespread legalization.

~~~
stmfreak
With legalization, the drugs would be cleaner and dosing more predictable. We
could then focus on helping addicts recover instead of worrying about the
legal trouble and violence they might bring to our homes if we try to help
them.

~~~
austincheney
So far legalization has not proven to solve the problems of demand or
addiction. In the past several years legally available drugs have been the
most abused and resulted in significant problems. I am not claiming this as a
justification for increased enforcement either.

If you aren't solving for demand you either aren't taking the problem
seriously or you have anterior motives to ending drug abuse.

~~~
Nursie
> So far legalization has not proven to solve the problems of demand or
> addiction.

It solves the problem of peoples lives being (further) ruined by punitive
policy. It opens up the possibility of seeking help without risking criminal
conviction.

~~~
xienze
> It opens up the possibility of seeking help without risking criminal
> conviction.

There are numerous recovery clinics in the US. I’m not aware of any of them
having a policy of reporting their patients to the police. What would they
even be arrested for? Having been high in the past?

Fear of criminal penalties isn’t a barrier to recovery in the US. I’m not sure
where you got this impression.

~~~
Nursie
I'm not in the US, but it's a barrier everywhere AFAICT.

It's an admission of past criminal behaviour and potential future criminal
behaviour. People who are addicted are very likely to be in possession for
fear of getting withdrawals as much as anything else.

It seems as though Portugal has had a lot of success with its approach.

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piker
> “If he makes a mistake... he'll find out he made a mistake when the devil
> welcomes him to breakfast,” said Madinger.

That quote is great! Is it a common saying in dangerous fields?

~~~
moftz
I can't find any mention of "devil welcomes him to breakfast" other than that
article and quotes from that article.

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exabrial
Ok, things I didn't know about where I grew up...

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trumped
what about carfentanil: [https://spauldingdecon.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/11/fentan...](https://spauldingdecon.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/11/fentanyl-image.jpg)

