From: user6340@newsgrouper.org.invalid   
      
   JTEM  posted:   
   > On 12/16/25 8:06 PM, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   > > JTEM  posted:   
   > >> On 12/16/25 6:46 PM, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   > >>   
   > >>> There are a lot of kids who are given drugs to get   
   > >>> them hooked, then they go out and commit crimes to   
   > >>> get the money to buy drugs.   
   > >>   
   > >> I don't believe that. It's a common myth, and was   
   > >> either a plot point on vintage crime dramas or so   
   > >> close to it that no doubt it's the source.   
   >   
   > > [quoting] "There is a close relationship between   
   > > drug abuse and crime. Drug abusers commit crimes   
   > > to pay for their drugs and this inflicts damages   
   > > to the society. Moreover, many criminals are under   
   > > the influence of drugs while committing crimes.   
   > > Drug trafficking is another outcome of drug abuse.   
   >   
   > This does not address what you claimed and I was   
   > responding to. You said that drug dealers give away   
   > drugs to get them hooked, forcing them into crime to   
   > pay for the habit.   
   >   
   > You quoted you above. I left it in. It was a VERY   
   > different statement than the one you are now   
   > supporting.   
      
   From personal experience, back in the 80s when the   
   cocaine epidemic was rampant in the region where I   
   live, I would sometimes be invited to parties where   
   there was cocaine freely available for anyone who   
   wanted to try it. No charge, just everyone having   
   fun at a party. I know people who became regular   
   cocaine users because of those parties.   
      
   So that's my anecdotal evidence that what I said   
   is a fact, because I was there and I saw it happen.   
   But here's something else I found that provides a   
   bit of support to my own anecdotal evidence:   
      
   [quoting] For nearly 100 years, the drug dealer has   
   been portrayed as someone who is "pushing" products   
   onto prospective customers (Coomber, 2003). In the   
   1920s, both the New York Times and an authoritative   
   source on opium addiction stated that a common practice   
   in drug markets is to give away free drugs to get people   
   "hooked" (New York Times, 1924), or "addicted" (Terry   
   & Pellens, 1928).   
      
   Similar claims were made in the following decades,   
   also after Coomber wrote about this in 2003. In 2016,   
   for example, a drug prevention program official claimed   
   that contemporary drug dealers use "free samples" as a   
   "marketing" strategy. Anecdotal evidence was provided:   
      
   Allegedly, an Arkansas dealer visited a former drug user   
   in his home and gave him a free sample. "Naturally, [he]   
   became a customer again" (Birkenshaw, 2016). In 2017, a   
   Philadelphia police officer said that "dealers will   
   occasionally give out samples to get the buyers to   
   frequent them" (Farr, 2017).   
      
   https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10058470   
   >   
   > > Not so charmed the way it ended, along with the   
   > > couple of decades of dealing with a drug-addict   
   > > son.   
   >   
   > Did you see Dr Grande?  He is definitely victim blaming!   
   >   
   > https://youtu.be/Wugw5Rfs0JM?si=koeEdQSQYq5apfdz   
   >   
   > Not saying he was a bad man or that he ever did anything   
   > but try and help his son. But he made things worse,   
   > starting with supporting his kid's habit.   
      
   Yes, I did watch the Dr. Grande video. It's true   
   that you can't force an addict to give up their   
   addiction until the addict decides to quit. No   
   one can do it for them. It's just a shame that   
   there was something missing in that kid's life   
   that he felt the need to escape into his drug   
   addiction.   
   >   
   > > [quoting] "Among individuals aged 12 to 49 who initiated   
   > > heroin use in the past 12 months, the average age at first   
   > > use in 2013 was 24.5 years." [end quote]   
   >   
   > Reiner's son was an addict at 15. So you're stressing the   
   > point here. The worst I could manage at that age was   
   > cigarettes and this kid was scoring hard drugs?   
      
   The age range listed was 12 to 49, with the average   
   age 24.5. That means there were some in that group   
   who were 15 (or even younger) when they started.   
   But that also goes against what you said you were   
   taught in school, that over age 17 people are less   
   likely to start on hard drugs. Maybe that was true   
   back when you were being taught that, but it's not   
   true as of 2013 (as the quoted paragraph above notes).   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)