It's been said this site is like running a tea strainer through a dirty toilet bowl-- all the turds get concentrated in one place. It makes one think twice before replying to things posted here, lest one end up talking to turds. Oh well, call Mr Hanky, because here goes...
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:Good to see the cops putting so much effort into something as productive as this, instead of wasting taxpayers' money on such useless pursuits as clamping down on rape, murder, theft, corruption, graft, animal abuse and fraud.
I love how drug enforcement is characterized as unproductive and, further, how it's made to appear that law enforcement only have two choices: fight all other serious crimes or focus on drug crimes whilst neglecting everything else, as if they are mutually exclusive choices. Actually, the odd high-profile bust shows police are capable of fighting other crimes AND once in while showing they can still enforce the drug laws, which by the way, are supported by the majority of the population in Taiwan. Let's see how drug crimes look in your list of crimes:
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:...clamping down on rape, murder, theft, trafficking in illegal narcotics, corruption, graft, animal abuse and fraud.
Seems to fit right in.
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:Sending 600 cops out to bust a couple of kids doing ketamine in a nightclub is a ridiculous waste of time and money that could be used more productively elsewhere.
How do we know it was "a couple?' Also, nightclubs do not admit kids, so why not describe them properly? Here, I'll fix it for you:
bust a bunch of adults consuming and selling banned substances who are aware of legalities of what they are doing...
Much better, but it does seem to deflate your rhetoric a tad.
And as for the "ridiculous waste of time and money that could be used more productively elsewhere," why not just admit that you either are or were previously a recreational drug user, are pro drug legalization across the board and, as such, would oppose
any enforcement of drug laws out of pure self interest. It would be more honest of you if you just said no drug laws should be enforced, ever. Oh, wait:
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:Drug laws are, however, draconian and antiquated, and have zero effect on reducing drug use.
You did already. But hey, decriminalizing hard drugs would be taking things a bit far, right? Oops:
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:If heroin was available in liquor stores, and at a price relative to it's low cost to produce, it would wreak less harm on the community than liquor does. It makes you calm and sedated.
Cannabis I could see, but heroin?
JIMIPRESLEY wrote: You only get psycho if you need a hit and can't get one.
Oh, that's reassuring. Addicts aren't at all "calm and sedated" when they need their junk and can't get any. We need more "psycho" junkies in search of their next hit roaming the streets. Great idea. Would improve public safety loads.
JIMIPRESLEY wrote:Of my flob friends 6 have tried heroin and 7 have tried crack!
That confirms what I've suspected for a while and explains a lot, actually.
I suppose it would be stating the obvious to say that discussions of drug legalization after a bust are moot.
Drugs are not tolerated in Taiwan and offences tend to be punished harshly. That's reality. I'm sure all of us saw the old "death penalty for drug offences" signs in the airport when first came here. Choosing to come here means either abiding by the law or accepting the consequences if you choose to ignore it. Taiwanese support the enforcement of drug offences. If you dream of heroin in drug stores, you're in the wrong place.