From: theirony2013@gmail.com   
      
   On 2025-12-17 12:55, Steven Douglas wrote:   
   >   
   > 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.   
      
   I'm very disappointed in you Steven.   
   I did not imagine you could be caught   
   in such situations. What is about you   
   that made them keep inviting you?   
      
   I've never felt comfortable at parties,   
   definitely never been  to one where coke   
   was being freely handed out. I've never   
   even been invited to such a party. I am   
   truly shocked to learn of the kinds of people   
   you have been known to hang out with.   
      
      
   >   
   > 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)