I have a question for you all. I was wondering what you thought about drug dealers? especially women whos boyfriends are addicts. I have spend alot of my life in trying to help drugs addicts. Addiction runs in my family...my uncles and grandfather all have died from this disease. My cousin is slowly killing himself and my brother is an addict. When i was younger i would loathe drug dealers, but now i am in love with one (well now an ex dealer). While dealing drugs does not define who Jason is, he is still soemone who benifitted from others weaknesses and took money from people who should have been feeding their children with it. I alwasy felt that it was fair to say that he was taking the food out of the mouths of these children. But now that i think of it, all bussniesses take advantage of peoples weaknessess and if they did not get drugs from him, they would have got it from someone else. It is not his fault drugs exist and he is not forcing people to use them Am i trying to talk myself out of something that i once believed or have i just grown and learned that dealers are not to blame for drug use. what does everyone else think on this subject?

I don't think that anyone is to blame for their drug use except to each his own. A person has a CHOICE and free will. My husband's drug use was all because he wanted it, not because the drug dealers gave it to him...all he had to say was NO, but it was his choice to say yes. No one can blame anyone except the person doing the drugs...we have pointing the fingers at everyone else.~~~Brandi

Yes and no. Addiction can not be fed. I feel that drug dealers enable their addictions. They help the people find the stuff. ANd they should be punished.

Speaking as a former drug user (meth was my drug of choice) I can tell you that no drug dealer was to blame for my use/addiction. I come from a long line of clinically depressed folks, it's the family way for us and in my case you can throw in a dose of agoraphobia as well. After many years of self-medicating with street drugs I kicked it to the curb, it was a tough battle, I will always be an addict but God willing I will never use again.

I take issue with anyone that puts drugs into the hands of our youth. That to me is unforgivable, however I can't solely blame that on the dealers as a dealer can sell to an adult who in turn passes drugs along to today's kids.

Is Krispy Kreme to blame for making one overeat? I know smoking doesn't make me look cool and I'm fairly sure it was the cause of her lung cancer (RIP mama) but I still do it, not even gonna blame the tobacco companies.

For the record: my post is not intended to endorse drug dealing but simply a reflection on my personal situation.

Patty

Thanks for sharing your story Patty. You are very strong to have kicked it to the curb. Keep on taking one day at a time!

Being the wife of an in-active recovering addict I personally completely blame my husband's upbringing for the bad decisions that he's made in his life.

Though he has gotten much better over the years (I've trained him pretty well :D) he was "sent out into the world with an empty backpack". By the time his parents tried to step up to the plate it was a little too late.

I don't blame the dealers at all. The Philly cops are taking them off the streets left and right. There's always someone else right there to take their place though. Maybe it moved down the block or maybe it's in someone's house, store or garage but there will always be someone selling something somewhere. It takes years to clean up a neighborhood.

A dope fiend has a very close friend who dies from an overdose...after the initial shock wears off...you know what the 1st 2 questions are?...

What kind was it and where did he/she get it?

How do you blame the dealer who is supplying something that is in high demand and making mad loot to boot.

If it's not clicking in their heads that they can die it surely isn't clicking in their heads that they can end up incarcerated for dumb s*** that comes along with addiction.

IMHO, only the addict can be blamed for their drug addiction. While drugs plague our streets, most drug dealers are poor, barely feeding their children. TV paints a false portrayal of drug dealers. Some are ballin' with lots of ice/bling, expensive cars, etc, but A LOT are low level very poor to low income minority men who are fighting their own addictions and dealing drugs trying to stay ahead of an eviction.

Basically, I'm just saying its a cycle where no one is to blame for the other's actions.

You're 100% right on the money about the low level street dealers but if they paid the rent and was able to avoid eviction and fed their addiction for free they came out ahead of the game.

I don't feel that I can blame the environment one grows up in. After all, there are people who live horrendous upbringings and come out on the top of the heap and there are those who struggle every day.

If I were to blame the drug dealers it would have to encompass much more than the street drug dealers. It would encompass the doctors who prescribe them, the insurance companies that promote the drugs, food processors like those who make Cheerios, pasta, and ketchup, the pharmaceutical companies, etc.

I had an ARNP feeding me anti-depressants for six years. I told him at every visit (as I sat there weeping in my state of depression) that I would get off the anti-depressants because I didn't like putting the chemicals in my body. Every time he would say to me, "if you had high blood pressure would you stop taking your high blood pressure medicine? You have major depression. You have to take anti-depressants for the rest of your life." After six years - and a life altering experience with refined sugar - I quit the anti-depressants cold turkey (a huge no-no in the medical world). Refined sugar does such horrible things to our bodies. The medical field knows it. The government knows it. The people who make the processed food know it. Insurance companies know it. They count on it because the sicker the country is the more money they make as they continue to raise their premiums. It's all about the all-mighty dollar - just like it is for the street drug pushers. It would devastate this country to have refined sugar removed from the market (in all forms).

I questioned my doctor about the sugar/depression issue and she told me that it was true but that she doesn't raise it with her patients because they get angry with her. I told her that I was angry because she knew and didn't share this knowledge with me. Instead she sent me to a drug pusher (the ARNP). She apologized and said that she would start treating in a way that would benefit them - talk to them about their a healthy diet to get well - not dumping chemicals (pills) into their bodies.

If someone wants to go after the drug pushers then go all the way to the top - to the government.

Very interesting story and I totally agree with you. I think they should start at the top on our own soil.

I believe that using drugs is a bad choice and the individual is to blame, but there are also alot of ingredients or circumstances that go into forming a persons behavior that have something to do with whether or not they have the potential to become an addict. My husband had a very bad upbringing, was taught absolutely no coping skills, communication was not in the home, no discipline,and his family were addicts of one substance or another. While that is not the reason he has become an addict, it does however have much to do with it. That is just my opinion.
Joy

I do not blame anyone but myself for my drug addiction that I had. We all know right from wrong and it is up to us to make the decision we make/made we have to live with that decision.

I don't think I would personally blame the dealers. My boyfriend was the dealer and he would tell me ever so often that I should get off the stuff. But that was us. Which I finally did after he went to jail.

Is mcDonalds responsable for overweight Americans? You have choices in life and the ones you make decide rather there will be a reward or a consequence. By the age of 12 you pretty much know right from wrong. You make the choice to try drugs, no one usually forces it on you. A drug dealer simply supplies drugs just like mcdonalds does burgers. Want to stay fit and healthy, dont eat mcdonalds. Want to stay clean dont go to the dealer. Its a supply and demand situation. So let me ask this is it the addicts fault that there are dealers. you see what I mean?

naw i dont blame the drug dealers.i take full accountability for making the choice to use.my exhusband slipped the drug in my drink and i blame him for decieving me like that.but i made the final choice to feed the temptation.i forgave him for his wicked ways and i dont point the finger at noone but myself. at this point in my life i dont think drug dealers arent intentionally trying to break anyones spirit.they are mostly trying to make a living.granted it is the wrong kind of living but we all live and we all learn.your man included.you say he is an ex-dealer.take it for what it is.he llearned from it and i must say that he deserves to be loved and have a chance at happiness also.it is such a wonderful thing that one on the other side of the tracks(drug dealers,addicts etc) can experience life in all its splendor with someone who wont judge,harass or taunt them.your man is lucky to have you and i dont think you are minimizing your views of how he was (WAS BEING THE KEY WORD).i think you have come to grips that he is a changed man.thats all we can hope for cuz without hope nothing is alive.

sorry i need to revise this.(i broke my glasses so its hard seeing the keyboard even this close)
i dont think drug dealers are intentionally trying to break anyone's spirits.

:twocents:
I'd like to add my 2 cents! Keeping in mind that I am very bitter about the hell I went through for 2 years with my ex, yes, I do blame the drug dealers somewhat, not totally. He needs to take responsibility for his own actions, of course, but there were times that he was truely trying to stay away from it, and they would call and call!! He had his phone number changed, so they would call or stop in my business (public place) until they accomplished what they were set out to do. It seemed they hunted him down like a dog, they knew how hooked he was, and after all, they made lots of money off of him! :angry: Anyway, just blowing off steam!! Thanks!

you know, that's a point of view I read where a judge sentenced a drug dealer for dealing poison in his community. I can't say I totally agree with that because of what I see. That is, legimate business cater to drug dealers and drug addicts. I look around and I see smoke shops who sell drug paraphanalia, an assortment of pipes, kits-square ceramic tile, with attached razor blade and metal straws, also weight scales with small, medium, and large sizes of ziploc bags. Included in the display case is a disclaimer which reads in big, bold, black letters: "DO NOT USE ILLEGAL LANGUAGE" In other words, Don't ask, Don't tell, buy discreetly.

Futhermore, one can go in any convenience store, book store, or nearby liquor store and buy HIGH TIMES magazine. Inside these pages are articles of information on how to grow your own, if you know what I mean. The deception is obvious, especially when the title reads, "How to grow indoor_____" this suggests to hide and keep away from sight. Also included are products one can buy (drug tests)designed to deceive an employer. Yet, all these things are legal, according to the first amendement of the constitution. (Freedom of Speech) According to the DEA, these businesses have an annual profit of 1/4 of a billion dollars.

Good question, I need clarity, in a consise, and clear manner. I do not see it where the US is concerned. Money can be the root of all evil, it can be a blessing and a curse. As a former drug addict and small time dealer, I remember this when I look at my dollar bill. I reflect on where I was, how long I have come since then and where I am headed to in the future.

I think each person--addict and dealer--has to take responsibility for their own actions. As someone who has had the unfortunate experience of living around crack dealers in my life (and I know all types of dealers aren't the same) I have seen with my own eyes the violence and bad things that happen in the neighborhood because of it. It's not a 'pretty' profession and crack dealers do make their money off the misery of others. It's not something I condone or at all respect--but I have seen that they are not all horrible people and I hope that those who go to prison for it change their lives around afterward.

I have also seen how addicts affect their families, and that is not 'pretty' either. Someone I am very close to is going through this with a family member and she has to worry if he will end up dead or in jail. There is no excuse for what the addict puts his/her loved ones through.

It does seem to me that some dealers say 'it's not my fault people want to buy it' and alot of addicts try to 'blame the dealers.' I think both need to get real--both are wrong. Everyone makes their own choices. It's a mutally dependent enterprise--if there were no addicts, the dealers would have no one to sell to. If there were no dealers, the addicts would have no one to buy from. But really, I think who cares? If you have a drug problem, it's your responsibility to get help for it, and if you are a dealer, you made that choice to break the law also. Just because people want to buy it, is hardly a good reason to sell it or be a part of it.

If there was no demand, no market, there would be no drug dealers. Any market, legal or not, is ultimately consumer-driven. Hence the virtual disappearance of village blacksmiths, makers of buggy whips and whalebone corsets, and barbers who also pull teeth and perform bloodletting.

as long as there is a demand there will be a supply. im not trying to justify selling dope, but as long as there is money out there for it there will be a market. i personally think the war on drugs is nothing but a money making business. it provides jobs for agencies, such as the mississippi beauro of narcotics, as well as police officers. it also creates a demand for correctional officers in the prison systems by keeping the number of convicts up. i dont know what the solution for it would be, but it seems like it would be so easier to legalize and tax drugs. it would cut down on crime, violence, and murder as well. its just my opinion.

I dont think its anyone fault to blame but the person that is usinq the druqs..its their choice & everyone has their own mind to do so..just cuz druq dealers make it easy access for addicts to find these druqs dont mean they are the blame..they are simply tryinq to make a livinq! truthfully..half of the druq dealers I know parents are hiqhly addicted to the products they sell..I dont believe for one second they would wanna see their loved ones out there .but its true the addiction is a disease.
& as far as anyones fault ..ITS THEIR OWN

i dont feel you can blame the drug dealers completely, but yet the ones who give it to kids to get them hooked for future clientel ...yes i do blame, however drug dealers will give out freebies once in awhile to keep them coming back, if thier customer is trying to quit...i think they prey on the sick and vunerable because they are not in thier right mind while they are using..to me its no different than if people take advantage of senoir citizens and stealing all thier money, they know what they are doing and they know they are destroying lives for a profit, they cant take all the blame for the addicts, but they do contribute to all the crime,deaths..etc... they affect our future children....

One can blame drug dealers for drug use in the same way one can blame liquor stores for alcoholism. No one is forced to patronize the seller or use the product.

No distillery is responsible for the fact that I am an alcoholic. My friends and I are responsible for the fact that I no longer drink. And I'm much happier for it.

Perhaps things have changed since my day, but when I was a kid I was constantly being warned by parents and public service announcements that drug users would try to get me hooked, offer me drugs for free, pass them off as candy, or what have you. I found that quite the opposite was true. The drug users in school didn't want to share substances they had paid good money for, and they invariably kept to themselves. If you weren't part of that crowd, they wanted nothing to do with you.

you see here i am back and forth, my fiance is sitting in jail a changed man, now but before when he was on the streets, he was a dealer. Ran game in somewhat of a 9 county area. and i think the saying is right "don't hate the player hate the game" in this case it is anyways. i am totally against drugs, but there is a reason they are here and certain people get on them, if it wern't then i wouldn't have met the man God put on earth for me, i believe every evil has a counter good. but then again if it wern't for that one dealer who pushed coke in my best friends face and said hey try this. then id still have him and it was easy to hate that guy for it. but i know that every person has a time anyways. So what im saying is if the person wants to get high they will, dealer or no dealer so hate the drug game not the pitcher!

DavesMoff is right. How on earth can one place a 'blame' on another human being;who, by the way, is / are practicing 'capitalism' in a democratic way. Each individual person is held accountable for their own values, belief's, morals REGARDLESS of who they meet along the way. NO one can make another do anything, it is our own "Lot" in life to make a 3 second decision, is it right or wrong, will I win or lose, choice is mine, and what choice I make - is what it is. Being SUCCESSFUL / HAPPY in life is in those 4 seconds. It's too simple. I Pray for everyone to recognize Blessings in all forms. Stand TALL and be PROUD that YOU are loved.

ohhh sorry, I didn't allow myself to finish that thought right. NO drug dealers are NOT to blame not any more than the United States government is to blame for ill health in here by being ver subtle in the WORST drug imaginable, processed sugar. Ya'll just don't REALLY know what a drug that is... focus is on all the wrong things here.

The person responsible is the person that chooses to ingest the drugs. Yes, we would all like to place blame where ever we can but when it comes right down to it, it's the user. I realize that there is an addiction but the choice to get clean and stay clean can't be made by anyone but the person using.

I am a recovering meth addict, clean for 4 years 1 month. I always had the choice to say no. I chose to say yes. That's nobodys fault but my own. This is a terrible cycle that just goes round and round. Had my preferred dealer told me no, I would have found somebody else.

Here's a handshake from a brother, ilovedavid. The moment we stop trying people to blame for problems only we hold the solution to, we start to get better. Congratulations on the four years and here's to many more. But as you will know....it's just one day at a time.

i used drugs for many years and No dealers arent to blame I am

good question but it's on the addict.
my gf is clean now.
she used to move mad weight and has been smoking for 15+ years.
after living it for so long and dealing with all the BS and after seeing she can have an even better life with out drugs with some one who's not using she decided to kick it.
she was able to make herself desire something else.
i think she's wired differntly and she's lucky like that.
but i know one hit of the pipe and she'll be back on the roller coaster again.
she know's it too that's why she'll never touch it again.

Addictions are real. There is a yes and no answer. I believe we all have choices and respondsilbiltes. I am glad there are mental health proffessional to help out.

I do wish the people addicted would seek help before breaking the law.

There is a reason why some need to go to prison like many offenses and espiacally taking a life. Where i live rehab is given a choice before the judge makes the descion.

Sadly Justices is not always right to me they can go to the extreme.

I applaud everyone who has worked so hard to eliminate addiction. I have so many friends and family members that have and had addictions to numerous things and plagues (gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.) and I know the devastation addiction causes. To the point at hand, do I think drug dealers are to blame? That's a hard question because there are so many levels of drug dealership. The drug game is a vicious cycle and there are small time cats who sell crack to feed their families and there are big time Vegas hustlers who move huge amounts of ecstacy into clubs. I'm sad beyond belief at how young people in impoverished neighborhoods are forced to sell the very substance that holds the community down in the first place, and I'm equally sad for the mother who gets hooked on pills just to make it through the day. No one can be absolved from blame--the dealer, the user, the enabler, etc. The problem is just not that simple. It is the society and the system at large that must bear the weight, and that doesn't leave anyone out unfortunately.

I completely agree with Shelsonme.... This is too complex to place "blame" on just one person. Being married to an ex-addict, I would love to blame the dealers but I also know that his choices led him to where he ended up. If they weren't around to sell to him, who knows? He would have found the drugs somewhere. I also blame his upbringing for his problem... dysfunctional is putting it lightly when it comes to his family!

who is in his late 30s, wears birkenstocks, still builds sets for the theatre department, has had the same apartment off campus since junior year who has long hair, black lights, sparkly toys, a lot of incense and psychedelic posters is to blame!

that's where it allllllllllll started! ;)

seriously. no. it's the person who is to blame.

there are pimps all around, yet i am not a hooker
there is alcohol in every store, but i don't drink
fast food joints on every corner, but i don't touch that mess
and drug dealers everywhere, but i am not a customer:thumbsup:

:twocents:

i don't blame the dealer for my husband's addiction and neither does he. however, these are people that are taking someone's weakness and using it to their own advantage. just because he could get it from somewhere else, does not make it ok to do. this is not just business, this is having no concern for someone else, just so you can get ahead. this is not caring about other people because you can benefit from it. so no, he is not taking the food from kid's mouth, but he is helping to, he is not ruining the health or marriage of an addict, but he is helping to. basically he has no concern for other human beings as long as he's helping himself. so to answer the original question: yes i believe that being in love has made you lose sight of what a drug dealer really is.

I dont think you can blame the dealer, we dont blame the gun shops that sell guns for all of the murders and crimes commited with them so you cant blame the drug dealer for somone's addiction. it is completly up to the person if they decide to use drugs or not. My finance is loccked up for selling drugs and of course he's not proud of his past and wont do it again, but if the addicts didnt get it from him they would have got it from someone else.

O.K. I live in Chicago and unfortunately I have seen many young people die from tainted heroin. The past two years or so, there were so many deaths among teenagers. While, nobody tells you or forces you to do drugs, I think that any dealer that knows their stuff is bad or is laced with something deserves to go to hell. Slanging weed is one thing, but people who knowingly sell a drug that is sometimes used for injection (we all know you can die immediately from injecting a substance that is tainted vs. snorting a substance or smoking it), I am sorry, but I just have no sympathy for these monsters selling poison. How can you sell something knowing that there is a possibility that drug can get into the hands of a young person and instantly kill them? You are a murderer and an enabler that should get treated no differently than somebody who pulls a trigger or stabs somebody to death. Is the ten or twenty dollars you got from selling a bag of heroin laced with fetynol or some other strong 'cut' really worth having somebody's life on your hands??

One more thing- just because you have a husband that is in jail for dealing does not make it alright. Instead of being selfish and worrying about when he is going to come home to give you some, why don't you put yourself in the shoes of a parent or anybody that has lost a loved one to an OD or by taking something that was laced with something else??? Mind you- not all people who decide to do a drug are 'addicts' or long time drug users. What about teenagers that might do something out of curiousity or to party one night? It only takes one time to die. So, before you give a biased opinion and think, "Oh, it's not fair that my man is locked up for the same amount of time they would give a child molester or somebody convicted of a violent crime..", think about the families that have lost somebody to an accidental overdose, then go get a normal job, or better yet, GO BACK TO SCHOOL and become educated!!!! There are other options besides dealing.

Drug users are to blame for their drug use!

CHIgirl I understand what you are saying but there are two separate issues here. Selling and deliberately tainting a product are not the same thing.

I've long held that users should be getting the same amount of time as a dealer, because they are going to find some way of getting what they want which is drugs. There isn't an easy answer to this, but if there weren't any users there wouldn't be dealers. Not so on the user score. People have found ways to get high for centuries using things that grow naturally from mother nature. Coca has been around forever, there is something called "shrooms" (I think that one can also be deadly but can't remember) that has been used as a high and kids use aerosol and paint for a high. Alcohol is a drug and one of the most pervasive of all - yet totally acceptable with no charges for selling. I don't by any means advocate making recreation drugs legal. I just believe place the blame where it belongs.

What you are saying about the tainted drugs is an entirely different matter. Sometimes it's to attempt to get people addicted quicker and sometimes it's for the end results which is to kill or injure. Either one is bad. Years ago someone in Chicago did the same thing to Tylenol (I don't remember anyone ever being caught and convicted but it had people terrified) with the end result that in the way products were packaged for better safety. This accounts for all those safety caps that drives everyone crazy. With drug use being illegal and under the table there is no way to control the tainting of products with legal means. All that can be done is charge them when they are caught and send them to prison and see if a murder charge can be added as an enhancement.

Either way people make a concious choice to do drugs. Saying it's teenagers experimenting doesn't make it right. They don't get to use that excuse to get out of robbery or murder so should not be allowed to use it do experiment other crimes.

I am an addict.....just not a user.

This is not a black and white issue....there is so much grey in it....it aint even funny.......there is no win/win situation here. I blame both the user and the pusher, BECAUSE, the first time to do either one was a conscience decision to do so......the rest of the story is a roller coaster nightmare with so many twists and turns that there really isnt no ryhme or reason.

I personally think that "street drugs" ought to be legalized. Why? Because the bottom would drop out of the drug industry. One thing for sure, the profits would bottom out immensely. People dont sell things that they dont make any money at.......it is about supply/demand...and PRICE.....

Meth is the drug i HATE......but yet i LOVE the way it makes me feel.....I am a addict.....just not a user......i make a decision every day not to use. But there was a time that i wouldnt pay my rent or my other bills to buy a "teiner"

Meth is the drug i would like to stop being distributed throughout this country.....not just because its the drug i choose....but because its the most deadly.....i believe.

Meth steals the "soul"
Meth steals the "family"
Meth steals your "mind"
Meth steals your "body"
Meth steals your "life"

It is the hardest drug to "kick" i believe....which makes it the most dangerous.....

I've watched many a people who had productive, fullfilling, society serving lives go to a "hollow shell of their former selves"

Now...lets put a twist on this.....we take an addict....we try to get to the "root" of their addiction.....we put them on some prescribed "narcotics" to kick the real addiction and in doing so, we just made them addicted again only to something that is now "legal" .....so we turned an "illegal" addict into a "legal" addict........Thats the answer! Methodone use is on the rise....and its purpose to help kick the habit.....yet its as addictive as the drug that we are trying to kick......but its a controlled substance.....yeah right.....see why i said "legalize the shit" ....we are doing it anyway.....

In my community, "prescribed" medication is in high demand....pills are the the new drug of choice. My own children are guilty of buying "zanax" from someone and getting so high that they didnt even know their own names....they were so out of it....they had literally lost their minds......
I was furious.....this is my Kids and other people's kids......then i found out that it was someone that i called "friend " that had sold to them.......i turned her in!!!

Sorry....some may call that "snitching" and i dont care.....When someone starts selling to "children" then im pissed......i dont care what youre situation.....you dont sell to "kids"......call it what you want.

Now that i've put it out there.....thats my two cents on the subject.....take it how you want.....;)

i donot blame the drug dealers for someone elses addiction. they provide what the 'addicts' want. Have you actually looked and studied an addicts behavior? have you seen the way they will break up a family, pawn all there property, steal and rob just to get enough money for a 10 minute high! its crazy.. its heart-breaking.. its their choice. no one is forcing them to do anything! Its sad but its true. the blame needs to go where it belongs. Even when it comes to those teenagers who were just 'curious' and sadly died from an overdose i would still blame the person doing the drugs and not the person selling it. who went out looking for who? who saved their lunch money for a week just to try something new? i dont know about in other states but in my part of florida there are plenty of addicts around. the dealers arent waiting at the high school park waiting for school to let out in an attempt to persuade the 17 yr old children to "try this". it just doesnt happen. no matter what-- if u want something (it can be bad or good) u will find a way. whether its drugs, sex, getting a college degree, or starting your own business. if you want something bad enough you will find a way!--

now as far as tainting drugs and stuff like that-- well thats a different subject and those dealers are to blame for their action. however i think statistics will show that majority of drug-induced deaths are from addicts and not first time users.

and if drugs were to become legal than the government would just be making a profit off of everyones addiction. look how many senior citizens cant afford their prescription medication that are desperately needed. the government wont even allow them to order from canada where the drugs would be cheaper... why? because they would be losing money. no matter what---- drugs will be around and if the government legalize it than they would just be making money not actually finding help to those who needs it.

Nikka- I will agree to disagree, but in my opinion you are sadly misinformed. Innocent people lose their lives everyday to drugs all around the world. Not just addicts or even first time users. Take into consideration, the children caught in the middle of families involved in dealing and/or using. I have heard so many stories of meth labs exploding with children inside. You should watch the news more often. Also, long time addicts have a higher tolerance than first time users, so usually it is a person with a low tolerance that will overdose before the person who has been doing something for years. THAT IS JUST COMMON SENSE!! I am not saying people are forced into taking drugs, but that fact alone does not make dealing acceptable or on a higher level than drug usage. Drug dealers break up as many families and steal just as much as those using the drugs. Also, alot of dealers are users too! There is no point in glamourizing drug dealing. Anybody that chooses to do that as a living has ZERO morals. O.K.- People make the choice to use drugs, well dealers make the choice to sell drugs, so then they should accept the fact that they are going to jail!!! They should also take into consideration that their product could kill somebody at anytime because they do not know what their supplier is REALLY giving them. There is no certain way to actually know. Unfortunately, people trust their suppliers as other individuals trust the dealers. Tainted or not-drugs kill! Ultimately, in the U.S. drugs are classified (A,B,C). So, if you are selling a class A drug- then you know what you are doing and you deserve to rot. Comparing the way our government regulates prescription drugs to somebody selling street drugs is just ridiculous. Also, while somebody may not be there directly saying "try this", we can not deny that young teenagers are much more easily pressured into doing things than adults. There is that saying that the first hit is always free. Before you judge people and lable them as 'users', think about who is really using who. It is obvious that you do not know anybody who has ever died to a drug related death. Oneday, you might not feel the same way again when it happens to somebody close to you.

One last thing, everybody is free to have their own opinion and I could understand why many of you feel the way you do. I know people that have gone away for dealing as well as drug users and former addicts. Nobody is better than the other. Finally, let me just say one thing, that while our country may not be perfect, I trust that drugs are put into a certain category for a reason. ***The bottom line is there are other ways to make money vs. selling drugs, just as there are other ways to have fun vs. getting high. *** No excuse. As for there would not be dealers without users, that is like asking, "What came first the chicken or the egg?" It can go on forever, it can be either or.

P.S. I am pretty sure ten minute highs would only apply to crackheads. I know plenty of people that use and have never had to steal or rob or save 'lunch money' to get drugs. Sometimes, it is the last person you suspect. Personally, I think anybody that sells crack or heroin or meth deserves to go away for at leat 20 and if somebody dies off something they sold, then life.

I applaud everyone who has worked so hard to eliminate addiction. I have so many friends and family members that have and had addictions to numerous things and plagues (gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, etc.) and I know the devastation addiction causes. To the point at hand, do I think drug dealers are to blame? That's a hard question because there are so many levels of drug dealership. The drug game is a vicious cycle and there are small time cats who sell crack to feed their families and there are big time Vegas hustlers who move huge amounts of ecstacy into clubs. I'm sad beyond belief at how young people in impoverished neighborhoods are forced to sell the very substance that holds the community down in the first place, and I'm equally sad for the mother who gets hooked on pills just to make it through the day. No one can be absolved from blame--the dealer, the user, the enabler, etc. The problem is just not that simple. It is the society and the system at large that must bear the weight, and that doesn't leave anyone out unfortunately.

Mrs. Battsiii: who is in his late 30s, wears birkenstocks, still builds sets for the theatre department, has had the same apartment off campus since junior year who has long hair, black lights, sparkly toys, a lot of incense and psychedelic posters is to blame!

that's where it allllllllllll started! ;)

Now There's an answer!:idea: What I don't understand is why alcohol and cigs are legal and :hee: is not:confused:

chigirl-- i understand and respect your comments however i still disagree. like i said before--in my part of town... thats the way things are. in my part of florida there arent too many meth labs or heroin stories being told. i watch my local news everyday--thank you very much-- and you will see plenty of weed houses getting busted or crack houses getting raided. i watch for those drug cases specifically because i wonder if i will ever see someone i know on there and i DONOT HERE ABOUT METH! so thank u for your comments but apperently your stories do not apply to my neighborhood. maybe in your town that is very popular but around here its not.

well that would stink to do die the first time but i think it is still a 50-50... its not like a bullet just struct somebody in the back of the head more of them facing the bullet in the eye yanno... everyone is capable of making their own descions and if the dealer sells they will suffer the consequence if a user uses then sometimes they have to suffer sooner than others.... they are both in the wrong... but i dont think it would be justice to blame the dealer CIGARRTES and MCDONALDS can both kill you when you get to much but we dont blame the seller do we??!?!?!

Meth labs are not popular here, but there are plenty of them on the all along the west coast. These so called 'labs' are usually just run in normal houses, apartment buildings, motel rooms, etc. As for the heroin ODs, the past two years have been crazy for this city and the surrounding 'burbs. BTW- I live in an upper middle class area on the northside of the city. Believe me, it happens everywhere!! Also, while cigarettes and mcdonald's can kill you in the long run, they can not instantly kill you. Comparing dangerous Class A illegal drugs to fattening food or nicotine is just crazy. Everytime we get into a car or on a plane we can die. It is as dumb as that. My point is that by selling poison ( Class A drugs tainted or not) - dealers know what they are doing and they are not only putting users at risk and in danger, but innocent people that are caught in the middle such as children. How can we justify that? We need to strenghten the morals of this country not justify selling, making, or using class A drugs. I once felt the same way most of all of you felt, that it is unfair somebody just trying to make a dollar should get the same amount of time as a violent offender. I also felt that alot of dealers sometimes have no other options, but to deal because the majority of them have to deal with a system that constantly fails them. However, after witnessing the many crimes and deaths related to drug deals, I am sorry, but nothing can justify selling drugs. Also, there are other ways to get money. McDonald's is a starts. lol. It is more respectable than selling drugs. There are plenty of other jobs though that do not involve fast food. Oh, and there is a thing called community college and there is a thing called FAFSA. It is easy to get a pel grant to go to school. No, this is not a student loan, but free money from the government. Most people are just too lazy to deal with the whole beauracracy of filling out papers, going to sign up for classes, etc. Many do not even know about this. Ultimately, education is the only way. I believe that the more you work and the more you give, the more you will eventually receive vs. people who try to take an easy way out and get caught up! Get a part time job while you go to school or if your record prevents from getting hired, get an internship somewhere doing something you enjoy. While, most internships do not pay, it is a good way to get experience and get good references for future employment! Sorry, but there is no excuse for selling drugs.
P.S. JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT CARE ABOUT IT. WE ARE UNITED STATES, NOT DIVIDED STATES!!! IT IS SO EASY FOR PEOPLE TO JUST DENY THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS GOING ON, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE GOING TO BE SCREWED IF A DEMOCRAT GETS ELECTED IN '08. WE NEED MORALS AND REFORM IN THIS COUNTRY. THE WAR ON DRUGS MUST CONTINUE.

Except for the very rare drug dealer that is hooking people on purpose, no drug dealers are not responsible for drug use anymore than Marlboro is responsible for my cig use. Actually, Marlboro is more responsible for my cig use than a drug dealer his for his wares - Marlboro purposefully adds addicting ingredients, and lied about it.

To quote (paraphrase) Chris Rock: 'People wanna get high. And will find a way to. There is no crack dealer sitting around going 'damn, how am I gonna get rid of all this crack? It's so hard to sell.:rolleyes:

My man's addiction was partly because of his lack of willpower and mostly because of his disability. He has cerebal Palsy which causes him daily pain. Not to mention he had a car accident that almost killed him. He broke his back and became dependant on pain killers. He simply bought pills from the wrong person and got caught. I don't blame the drug dealers, although they should get a real job and not feed on someone's weakness, I blame the courts who instead of sending someone who truly wants to leave the drugs alone to rehab, they send them to jail and prison where the drugs are just as available as they are on the streets. How can we expect our loved ones to kick habits like these when the very government swearing to put an end to the war on drugs won't help the ones who truly want it?!
:confused: :angry:

Once again, the 'elementary' analogy of comparing dealing drugs to cigarettes or fast food. Yes, both of those things are harmful to your health and can be addictive, but they can not instantly kill you. Bottom line. I am through with this thread. It is dumb trying get liberals to understand a conservative perspective. You should all go work in an ER room everyday, ride around with paramedics, or visit rehab centers. Then, tell me how much you love your drug dealers and the services they provide the community! As for Chris Rock, while entertaining, he is uneducated and misinformed. I doubt he ever went to college a day in his life. Go drive around the westside of Chicago, where the older dealers have twelve year olds standing on corners (in since the old guys are cowards and would rather have a child go down for them) in the middle of winter trying to flag down cars yelling "Rocks, Blows." Then, rethink Chris Rock's statement.

To be fair, it's not the government's responsibility to provide rehab or help a drug addict in any other way.

Drug addicts can check into rehab anytime they want, they don't have to wait to get caught and say 'but the government should send me to rehab instead of jail'.

Almost all criminals could say they need help instead of jail.

P.S. To Quesitoschica- Fast food restaurants and tobacco companies have been blamed plenty of times. Watch the documentary Supersize Me or those Truth commercials.

I have a question for you all. I was wondering what you thought about drug dealers? especially women whos boyfriends are addicts. I have spend alot of my life in trying to help drugs addicts. Addiction runs in my family...my uncles and grandfather all have died from this disease. My cousin is slowly killing himself and my brother is an addict. When i was younger i would loathe drug dealers, but now i am in love with one (well now an ex dealer). While dealing drugs does not define who Jason is, he is still soemone who benifitted from others weaknesses and took money from people who should have been feeding their children with it. I alwasy felt that it was fair to say that he was taking the food out of the mouths of these children. But now that i think of it, all bussniesses take advantage of peoples weaknessess and if they did not get drugs from him, they would have got it from someone else. It is not his fault drugs exist and he is not forcing people to use them Am i trying to talk myself out of something that i once believed or have i just grown and learned that dealers are not to blame for drug use. what does everyone else think on this subject?

What do I think of drug dealers? That depends on the drug they are selling. I know quite a few people that smoke weed. They are functioning adults with normal lives, they have jobs, families and aren't hurting anyone. A dealer that deals weed I have no problem with.
OTOH.. if someone were to tell me that I could make a 6 figure income selling something that will destroy the lives of my customers, destroy the lives of everyone who loves them, cause a man/woman to become so filled with rage that they will abuse their spouse and their children, turn my customers into criminals just so they can afford the next high.. cause my customers to stop functioning in society, rob my customers of their looks, their health and sometimes their life (and much much more).. I would have to decline even if that meant working for minimum wage forever.

I think there's enough blame to go around.. the addict themself, the dealer who sells it to them, a system that treats addicts like throwaways..etc. But if there were no-one dealing the drugs there would be no one using them. Anyone who deals methamphetamines is pretty low imo.

I do not believe the drug dealers are to blame for their drug use because the person who has the problem chooses to buy the drug and so forth. No one twist their arms to buy anything thats their choice because they want it. I applaud anyone who can get over an addiction because that is a hard thing to over come

........if there were no-one dealing the drugs there would be no one using them. Anyone who deals methamphetamines is pretty low imo.

I think we need to start with the pharmaceutical companies, who manufacture meth for ADHD. And drs script it to CHILDREN.

There will always be drugs. no dealer = someone who wants to do it reading on the internet how to make it, and cooking it themselves.

People will get high. They will take things out of their kitchen sink, put some drano in it, and shoot it up their vein.

I'm not defending drug dealers, I'm just saying the above statement isn't accurate.

In this chicken or the egg question, the answer is very simple that if people stopped wanting them, no one would be selling them.

No, that would be like saying "Dateline" is responsible for the predators that get arrested.

It's real simple......if you do the crime, then you will eventually do the time. You can not "justify" drug dealing.....you can not "justify" drug addiction.

"What, you blame the bank, because you robbed it.....time to stand up and take responsibility for your own actions.......

You can not compare it to "mickey d's" or the tobacco companies.....thats like comparing apples to oranges.....they are both are Fruit...thats it.......Looking to excuse it or justify it......and you cant. I dont care what your background is, what your status quo is, your education level, whatever youre wrapped up in.....somewhere, for whatever the reason, the person made a conscience decision to take that step.......Likewise you make the decision to QUIT......

We make the government rich by being addicted and selling......they say they are against drugs, we are in a drug war......bullshit.....they like it that we are weak, addicted and strung out......if we werent, then no rehab's or institutions would be making any money....

While the drug task force is raiding your house and recovering 200 marijuana plants and 20,000+ in cash....were do you think that money goes......right in the back pocket of some government official......dont kid yourself.

WE will be the demise of this country......we do it to ourselves....We are making this country weak and defensless and letting those running the damn thing have all the control.......thats what im mad about.....the people we elect, we trust to do the right thing are taking advantage of us....we have a drug problem in this country and our government is feeding off it......making profits off those that they are supposed to protect.

We need to fix ourselves, get our focus straight, be united and start standing up to this so-called government....making them accountable for the way they are running this country......

you know chigirl--- i have no idea where you live but u really need to wake up and think about what you are saying! FAFSA!!! are you serious? do you know how low income failies try to get pell grant and receive 2K on a 10,000 dollar tuition? what is that going to do? how is the 18 year old going to make it when their parents is already working for minimum wage? than u start talkin about democrats!! are u serious?! ---- i am through going through this because its obvious you are not open to other people opinions and are un touched with what is REALLY going on. i wish you luck in all you do because i will never agree with you.

Nikka--you make an interesting point. Pardon me for drifting somewhat off-topic, but I find it strange that my parents were both able to literally work their way through college with summer jobs (and that was long before the days of student loans). No one on earth could do that now. Joining the military provides "money for college"--but it no longer pays one's entire tuition as it once did. A couple of decades have passed since my siblings and I went to college and it was bad enough then but it's much worse now. I honestly don't see how the average kid does it and I can certainly see where any form of "easy money" can seem attractive.

One runs into a somewhat similar problem with the situation you mention, kjh4kjg. Due to civil forfeiture laws, staging a "drug raid" or the like can be quite profitable for law enforecement officials and others. Cases exist where departments have had real estate appraised before raiding it, finding a small amount of some drug or other, and confiscating the property. Guns, drugs, cash....all are "forfeited" or disappear into police evidence lockers where they have an odd tendency to drift out the back door.

That wonderful question arises....who guards the guards? And are we that much better off with the apparatus of the modern security state on the street than we would be with a significant number of today's criminals?

I live in Chicago, IL. That is funny because I used FAFSA for community college. It is not $10,000 a semester. I was and still am a full time student. As a matter of fact, I also get a $500 dollar check back from the state for the money I did not use at the end of every semester. Sometimes, I even get a little more back, in addition to a book voucher! The remaining money from the book voucher that I do not spend, I also get back. If you are a full time student, you also get a free CTA pass for bus and train rides. Maybe, more people should move to Chicago or just learn how to go through the beauracracy. The system can not help us if we do not bother to use it! The only places that cost $10,000 a semester are universities! Once you are done getting an Associates at a community college, you can get a scholarship to go on to a university. It is especially easy if you are in an honor's society, a member of a specific ethnic group, or have a good GPA in a certain subject. It is amazing the scholarships they have for undergrads from community colleges that want to transfer to a university after they complete a two year degree. Community colleges also offer amazing programs for people that want to get into something quick vs. getting a college degree. There are so many programs for trades- EMTs, dental assistants, radiography, pharmacy techs, occupational therapy, etc. Most of these programs only cost like $1,000 for the whole course. I am sorry if I offended anybody, but I feel that I just have to speak and say that we need to stop coming up with excuses for individuals doing illegal activities. By coming up with excuses for these people, they are only going to end up back in jail again. There is no excuse. We live in the United States of America and we are very lucky to have so many opportunities. We need to stop being lazy and take advantage.

P.S. Once you finish your associates at a community/city college, you can get a scholarship (especially if you are in the honor's society) to move on to a four year university as an undergrad.