Why?

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Criminal, since you're willingly giving up control over your actions, and accept the potential risk of hurting other people
(If you're speeding you'll get fined anyway, whether you hurt somebody else or not)

Does that mean i should be encarcerated?
I was a drug addict for over 15 years, yet i never hurted a soul, other than my own.
Just why should i be jailed for, again? For being sick? For having a desiese?
Would you arrest an alcoholic just because he is one?
If i kill someone while under the influence, i am a criminal, wether i´m an alcoholic or not.
Suffering from an adiction is not a crime. Nor should it ever be considered one. It is a medical issue, a genetic issue.
Many experts are now saying that we have a set of genes in our gene pool that favour and augment the chances of you ever becoming an addict of any given substance. Should i then be jailed because of the genetic blueprints passed along by my parents?
Don´t confuse the addiction with whatever acts you commit BECAUSE you have that addiction. Only a man´s acts can be criminal. Not the man himself because of who he is. That would be discrimination, racism, ostracism.

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I agree completely, Swamp_Thing. The only part I don't agree with is that I'm not an addict, but I know quite a few people who are.

Starfury, you say that it's because you accept the potential risk of hurting other people. By stepping out into public you accept that same risk, though to a smaller degree. By getting in the driver seat of a car, you accept that risk. So all drivers should be arrested?

Drug abuse itself shouldn't be criminal in my opinion, it should be medical. What you do under the influence can of course be criminal though. It should be handled the same way alcoholism is. Both are drugs. Heck, alcohol is the most abused drug in the world.

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As long as you obtain your dope without committing a felony and you do not injure or cause damage while you are doped up, then do what you want. As soon as you break the law obtaining your dope or you break any of the laws governing the land you live in you should be locked up.
I agree that addictions are diseases and should be treated that way, however, if laws were broken getting the $ for the dope then that again would constitute a punishable offense.

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While I applaud the effort to get Swamp-Thing behind bars (just kidding), it seems clear to me that drug abuse is a medical problem. Addictions of all kinds are a defect that we, as an enlightened society, should try to cure, not punish.

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I agree. What about the crimes comitted while being an addict in order to get the next fix. We all know not everyone manages to stay out of crime to support the financial strain of a dope habit.
Since those have been commited to support a medical mal-function, should there be no punishment? Essentially you would create a "insanity defense" for any crime committed while trying to get the next fix or while on dope.... Not a good idea!

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Imo selling, making, distibuting etc. should be punished but personal use not.

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Every kind of drug (like alcohol) or only hard-drugs? Imo there is nothing wrong with pot, at least it´s not worse than alcohol or tobacco. So growing pot is ok too, to me at least.
Dangerous and criminal acts should be punished (driving under invluence, stealing, etc.) but for the rest...

I meant hard drugs. Marihuana (though haven't tried it myself) and alcohol I accept. But everything else: verboten.

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