@1984 371565 wrote:
The key is to see serious addiction as an illness (or even better a symptom of an illness) rather than just something people chose to do. But I hardly ever see it in society, even on here people tend to just see thing from their own perspective rather than turn things around a little.
If society thinks its unfair that junkies damage their bodies and need medical help in the future then get people who do physical work to do the same when its time for the NHS to pay for all their back problems.
the problem is most people would (and do) fully agree that some dude what busted his back hauling boxes at Felixstowe for 40 years deserves everything the NHS can offer him, including treatment and a place in a old folks home.
Ironically, he will then be given tons of opiates to dull the pain! However, the argument is everyone in the country benefited from the contents of whatever was in the containers he helped unload.
Its a bit more difficult for people to feel compassion when you’re dealing with someone my age what never has had a steady job in their lives and has been busted a couple of times for stealing things, perhaps even from vulnerable people (there are plenty of instances of addicts robbing squats and other homeless people!)
OK there is a chance they can turn their lives around but they need to show they can put in the effort to do this and keep on at it, and there’s a limit to how many chances a person can be given.
I would support an initial “soft touch” approach but it people continually relapse/do crime then move it towards the new Asian model (introduced in place of the death penalty), where people are kept on an abstinence based program in a closed/medium secure environment but more a hospital than a prison – this is no worse than the régime of most elderly care homes…
