Greece is winning the war on drugs

[Garbarsardar]

Where others failed, Greece succeeds. By a clever combination of budget cuts in treatment facilities, limited availability of syringes, and police cooperation in distribution of drugs, the Greek government ensures that addicts who do not die of overdose or bad synthetic mixes, will surely be terminated by rampant HIV infections who have risen tenfold.

The fall in prices for paid sex with addicts is an added bonus for non-addicted Greek citizens and offers a much necessitated respite and relaxation from the miseries of everyday life.

It's an old adage that the level of our civilization is measured by how we treat addicts [or insert any other despised group] and we treat them like dogs, except that we would never a dog for 10 Euros.

Warning: the first link contains pictures that users may find disturbing

[Menelik_I]

So why again should my VAT goes to pay for someone who is dumb enough to do Heroin or stupid enough to have sex with someone doing Heroin ?

[Garbarsardar]

So why again should my VAT goes to pay for someone who is dumb enough to do Heroin or stupid enough to have sex with someone doing Heroin ?

For one, if you are, say, a US citizen, the part of your VAT that would go to treat addicts, is negligible compared to the part of your VAT that goes to incarcerate them, which is in turn negligible compared to the part of your VAT that is invested to a "war on drugs" with no end in sight and mostly ends up greasing corrupt South American states.

[JP226]

For one, if you are, say, a US citizen, the part of your VAT that would go to treat addicts, is negligible compared to the part of your VAT that goes to incarcerate them, which is in turn negligible compared to the part of your VAT that is invested to a "war on drugs" with no end in sight and mostly ends up greasing corrupt South American states.

False, none of my VAT goes to either treat addicts, wage war on them or incarcerate them. In fact my VAT doesn't go to anything at all, as there is no VAT.

[Timoleon of Korinthos]

So why again should my VAT goes to pay for someone who is dumb enough to do Heroin or stupid enough to have sex with someone doing Heroin ?

Exactly. Their choice, their consequences. And on top of that the historical centre of Athens, such as the area around the National Museum and the old buildings of the NTUA, are constantly being degraded by their plague-like presence as well the illegal immigrants engaging in similar activities. I wish them all gone, I don't care if they die due to their lifestyle and I certainly don't want our taxes to be wasted on them, especially now that we have issues of much greater concern at our hands.

[Manuel I Komnenos]

Exactly. Their choice, their consequences. And on top of that the historical centre of Athens, such as the area around the National Museum and the old buildings of the NTUA, are constantly being degraded by their plague-like presence as well the illegal immigrants engaging in similar activities. I wish them all gone, I don't care if they die due to their lifestyle and I certainly don't want our taxes to be wasted on them, especially now that we have issues of much greater concern at our hands.

And what about the ~25.000 homeless Greeks of Athens? Are they also degrading the area?

[Timoleon of Korinthos]

And what about the ~25.000 homeless Greeks of Athens? Are they also degrading the area?

They may degrade Athens as a whole, but not specific areas, because they are dispersed. But it is not against the law to be homeless, whereas it is illegal to make use of drugs and be a drug dealer, be an unregistered prostitute, engage in trading without a lisence, engage in crime and violence and be an illegal immigrant. So I have every right to want the police to cleanse the streets of their presence.

How do you propose getting rid of the homeless and drug addicts if you don't want any tax money spent on them?

Letting them die without interference.

[Dr. Croccer]

Letting them die without interference.

Very civilized.

Why shouldn't Germany close the money valve for the same reason?

[Bobz]

Nazis had a solution for this problem.

Death camps for the homeless drug addicts cost tax payers money. Although I am assuming you were not serious...

Have the police clear them from the city center to where they can't foul the air, then they can take a bath, drop the drugs to look for a job and normal social benefits. I see no reason why people on drugs should receive a cent from the Tax payers.

That costs money too. How do you propose that drug addicts get off drugs and integrate back into society if there is no support for them? And where do the police clear them too?

They may degrade Athens as a whole, but not specific areas, because they are dispersed. But it is not against the law to be homeless, whereas it is illegal to make use of drugs and be a drug dealer, be an unregistered prostitute, engage in trading without a lisence, engage in crime and violence and be an illegal immigrant. So I have every right to want the police to cleanse the streets of their presence.


Letting them die without interference.

How very civilised. Perhaps you haven't realised that all those you are so eager to let die will be replaced by more and more homeless, drug addicts and illegal immigrants, especially since you don't want any money to be spent on rehabilitating them.

[alhoon]

How do you propose getting rid of the homeless and drug addicts if you don't want any tax money spent on them?

Letting them die without interference.

I hope you realize that probably some of the posters visiting this site will have relatives or loved ones that suffer from their addiction to drugs. I wonder how you would feel if your cousin or your brother was a drug addict because of a stupid mistake he made once when desperate. Thankfully I don't have close relatives or friends that are drug addicts but I've seen parents of children that did drugs and they seemed to be aging like 10 years in a single year.

Those people you so uncaring ask to be left to die... they are people. Even if they screwed up royally in their life, they're still people. Being clean doesn't make you superior human being and them cockroaches. It makes you smart enough to avoid a deadly mistake while they were not.

[Bobz]

Exactly. Their choice, their consequences. And on top of that the historical centre of Athens, such as the area around the National Museum and the old buildings of the NTUA, are constantly being degraded by their plague-like presence as well the illegal immigrants engaging in similar activities. I wish them all gone, I don't care if they die due to their lifestyle and I certainly don't want our taxes to be wasted on them, especially now that we have issues of much greater concern at our hands.

How do you propose getting rid of the homeless and drug addicts if you don't want any tax money spent on them?

[Odenat]

How do you propose getting rid of the homeless and drug addicts if you don't want any tax money spent on them?

Nazis had a solution for this problem.

[Menelik_I]

How do you propose getting rid of the homeless and drug addicts if you don't want any tax money spent on them?

Have the police clear them from the city center to where they can't foul the air, then they can take a bath, drop the drugs to look for a job and normal social benefits. I see no reason why people on drugs should receive a cent from the Tax payers.

For one, if you are, say, a US citizen, the part of your VAT that would go to treat addicts, is negligible compared to the part of your VAT that goes to incarcerate them

Still pays for Police and Prison system, counts as Law Enforcement to me.

VAT that is invested to a "war on drugs" with no end in sight and mostly ends up greasing corrupt South American states.

Legalizing drugs is not going to Save Latin American from the Cartel-Castro Alliance, you are day dreaming.

[YukonTrooper]

Exactly. Their choice, their consequences. And on top of that the historical centre of Athens, such as the area around the National Museum and the old buildings of the NTUA, are constantly being degraded by their plague-like presence as well the illegal immigrants engaging in similar activities. I wish them all gone, I don't care if they die due to their lifestyle and I certainly don't want our taxes to be wasted on them, especially now that we have issues of much greater concern at our hands.

That's precisely the attitude that will exacerbate the "issues of much greater concern" in society. If a society doesn't see to the needs of the destitute and the fallen-out then that society will continue to rot. Drug use will continue to rise, disease will continue to rise, crime will continue to rise and so on and so forth, which all contribute to the issues a society already faces. Plus who wants to live in such a -hole filled with so much human misery? People begging at every corner, sucking customers off in the alleyways, hitting smack on the streets, jumping from buildings. Screw that.

What happens in almost every strategy game when the basic needs of a populace aren't met? Your city, nation, empire, etc. starts having issues. Crime rises, riots in the streets, cities start burning, etc. Basic logic 101.

[neoptolemos]

Public health is a major issue as well.
Apart from the humanitarian aspect , these people are sick and they need help and health services which any modern democratic state uoght to provide, tackling illegal drug use and the associated with it infectious diseases is prerequisite for the efective control of these infections.
I agree with garb, this is a disgrace and potentially dangerous for the population/taxpayers

[Himster]

It might be kinder to just put high concentrations of poison in confiscated heroine and redistribute it. Problem solved, nobody would suspect a thing.

[I WUB PUGS]

Hahaha. VAT =/= Sales Tax.

Sales Tax in the States mostly goes to local and state to pay for schools and stuff.

[LWT]

We'd better don't use the solution for a problem affecting many people's lifes and society as a whole, because I don't want any money to be spend on solving things that don't trouble me. It would be asiocial to do so.

[I WUB PUGS]

Gonna pay for them one way or the other. Our prison system is broken and not even on the table for reform.

[Vanoi]

Gonna pay for them one way or the other. Our prison system is broken and not even on the table for reform.

its broken because we already put too many people in jail in the first place. It would cost less to just legalize drugs and deal with it from there with social programs.