On: Seattle has stopped charging people for personal drug possession

[arcticbull]

Speculating here, the difference is two-fold:

(1) The drugs shouldn't have been prescribed in the first place. This system was creating the cycle of dependence, not attempting to manage it.

(2) Oxy and other opiates were prescribed for specific medical issues rather than recreationally. That leads to drug-seeking behavior once the normal course of treatment wears off, and eventually when cut off from legitimate supply, illicit alternatives.

[labawi → arcticbull]

Don't forget manufacturers of "long release" versions requiring prescription of fewer higher dosage pills instead of more smaller and incidentally cheaper ones.