Liberal columnist admits that West Coast approach to combating the drug crisis has failed
New York Times opinion columnist Nicholas Christophe acknowledged Saturday that the West Coast liberals’ “tolerant” drug stance was a false approach.
columnist I created a work The more you miss out on more hands to dealing with drugs, the less punitive approach backfires, acknowledging that it is closer to the death of one of his old friends.
“Nevertheless, it is also true that Drew’s recent fall into addiction occurred in part due to the West Coast’s drug-tolerant liberal culture, which was intended to be compassionate, but he He nearly killed (and killed many of my other friends), “The columnist reflected.
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New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof condemned the West Coast’s “tolerance” approach to dealing with drug addiction in a recent column. (Fox News)
Notable West Coast cities like San Francisco and Portland have been destroyed by drug crisis in recent years. Coincidentally, local laws regarding drug possession have been relaxed. For example, Oregon decriminalized user-volume drugs in 2021, and Portland leaders are struggling to crack down on public drug use.
Critics condemned California’s proposal 47 – Signing the law in 2014 – San Francisco’s worseningwhich reclassified six misdemeanor crimes as California’s misdemeanors, including shoplifting and drug possession for less than $950.
In his column, Christophe acknowledged that after seeing his friend, a homeless fentanyl addict, he awakened from his own belief that these more compassionate policies were good for the community. Ta.
“As a good liberal, I was against arresting people for using drugs. They need health care, not handcuffs, and so was the columnist.
Christophe pointed out how Portland’s drug laws are so loose compared to the laws relating to alcohol and tobacco consumption, saying, “In Portland, you could be arrested for drinking beer on the sidewalk. But until recently, it wasn’t for smoking fentanyl. In many cases, it was restricted or prohibited on the West Coast while fentanyl was allowed.”
This column appears in the New York Times Sunday print edition.
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People pass by a woman in a wheelchair near Union Square in San Francisco on Thursday, December 2, 2021. In San Francisco, homeless tents, open drug use, home invasions and dirty streets have multiplied during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Eric Lisberg)
Christophe destroyed the crisis by writing, “The United States has lost over a million people to overdose, beyond the number of Americans lost in all wars over the past 150 years since 2000.”
However, the author did not return to defending the harsh criminal policy promoted by Republicans, and reserved many criticisms for this. He said, “Drew’s journey constitutes a responsibilities to the Liberal Party and the conservatives. Drew is the third generation of his family and is working on addiction. Toolbox.”
He declared that “neither Democrats nor Republicans are addressing the severity or nuance that deserves.”
Still, he decriminalized the West Coast area; Disrupts drug use It promoted the crisis.
“Oregon decriminalized possession of small amounts of hard drugs in the 2020 referendum, and Drew says the lack of penalties played a role in his decision to return to drugs.
The author noted that while promoting punitive drug policies, people on the West Coast became too reluctant to “determine people’s choices.”
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He cited the executive director of the Portland-based Center for Addiction Prevention. He clarified the appropriate approach people need for addicts. “
Christophe added director’s points Reducing harm Although it saves lives, the best way to save lives is to establish “norms for drug use.”
The author then provided his own solution to a crisis that fused compassion for addicts with more traditional measures such as imprisonment.
“The meaning is that we need to navigate the middle path, not dogmatically. The right wing instinctively reaches for criminal sanctions, while the left wing for supportive harm reduction. You reach the left, but an effective toolbox requires both a stick and a carrot.”
Kristof mentioned his friend once more and said that while he was in prison he had regained his life thanks to a treatment program. In his childhood, the liberals added him with the non-judgmental tolerance that plagued him in our politics.
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