War on Drugs and Ethics of Shrubbery - ABS017

The Ancap Barber Shop

We discuss the war on drugs and the ethics of shrubbery. What happened in Portugal when it decriminalized all drugs, from weed to heroin?

Scott bought a new laptop computer thanks to the appreciation of Bitcoin. He's going to use this for a mobile recording station, and planning to record a show at PorcFest! We are looking to do a Pax Libertas Productions super-podcast. Scott and Adam will both be at PorcFest, along with Rodger from The LAVA Flow and Brian and Rodger from Resist the Empire.

Scott was also on the radio again filling in for his friend. He interviewed Larry Sharpe, a former Vice-Presidential candidate in 2016 for the Libertarian Party.

Jeff Sessions, the US Attorney General, is talking about reinstating mandatory minimums for drug offenses. A lot of court sentences depends on if the judge has had lunch or not, according to studies. Apparently, judges who skipped lunch tended to give harsher sentences.

What happened in Portugal when it decriminalized all drugs, from weed to heroin?

"Today, Portuguese authorities don't arrest anyone found holding what's considered less than a 10-day supply of an illicit drug — a gram of heroin, ecstasy, or amphetamine, two grams of cocaine, or 25 grams of cannabis. Instead, drug offenders receive a citation and are ordered to appear before so- called "dissuasion panels" made up of legal, social, and psychological experts. Most cases are simply suspended. Individuals who repeatedly come before the panels may be prescribed treatment, ranging from motivational counseling to opiate substitution therapy."

"When Portugal decided to decriminalize in 2000, many skeptics assumed that the number of users would skyrocket. That did not happen. With some exceptions, including a marginal increase among adolescents, drug use has fallen over the past 15 years and now ebbs and flows within overall trends in Europe."

"The rate of new HIV infections in Portugal has fallen precipitously since 2001, the year its law took effect, declining from 1,016 cases to only 56 in 2012. Overdose deaths decreased from 80 the year that decriminalization was enacted to only 16 in 2012. In the US, by comparison, more than 14,000 people died in 2014 from prescription opioid overdoses alone. Portugal's current drug-induced death rate, three per million residents, is more than five times lower than the European Union's average of 17.3, according to EU figures."

Adam goes into the history of cannabis becoming a prohibited substance.

Check out Yakkin’ with Nick!

Adam received a warning from the city a few years ago because he didn't mow his yard, and his landlord cut down his poisonous pokeweed. The landlord did this because it was supposedly harming the property value of his neighbors. Is this a valid argument? We talk about the implications.

Make sure to check out Kaleidoscope Cleaning!