Yoon declares "War on Drugs"

Is this a waste of time? I'm not even saying that it should be legal here, I get that it's serious but is this the issue du jour? How? There are LITERALLY 100 other things more importatn than this.

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20221024008500315

Waste of time. You can't get rid of something just by declaring war on it. He should learn from America's mistakes.

Hard drugs have destroyed lives.  Just look at all the de industrialized places in the US.  No jobs, no hope, turn to drugs and all the problems that go with them.  Crime and getting your next fix.  That said, some casual weed or hashish, who cares?  Some cannibus oil has done wonders for those with seizures, etc.  I don't do drugs of any kind but don't really mind if a friend tokes once in a while.  Whoopdy doo.  Even for the hard drugs, treatment for first offence and coaching on how to deal with life problems or change circumstances would be much better than hard prison.  Repeated offences especially if crimes like theft and violence to get the next "fix" then would warrant prison time.  (And another non related issue?  What about those walking around big cities in the west off their drugs or meds?  What's up with that?)

Waste of time. You can't get rid of something just by declaring war on it. He should learn from America's mistakes.

Maybe America should learn by America's mistakes. Didn't they start with booze?

the drug of choice here is heavily meth. its being used by labourers to get through a 12 hour shift. its also being used by rich club goers in trendy seoul districts.  I wonder which group gets demonized and targeted first. Meth is an insanely addictive and life ruining drug. get rid of it.  im all for the panalties being severe, but they should have some distinction between  meth, herione, and all the others. ADHD drugs are so ridiculously over prescribed here and used recreationally. Will they target this kind of drug abuse?

Xanax and Stilnox can be recreational drugs. But you can get them
both in Korea at the drop of a hat.

But he entire world is hypocritical, booze has probably destroyed
more lives than ALL drugs combined ever. But the powers that be
seem to think it is wonderful. Cigarettes must also be up there for
world-class life takers.

I agree with the police looking for it and finding criminals and arresting. I'm not against that. But Yoon makes it sound like the apocalypse. Like I said this is SO low on the list of important things a national government should be doing.

Should start with corruption and nepotism. Because Korean politics is rife with it.

I know someone here who had lingering respiratory and neurological symptoms after COVID. The doctor prescribed Xanax.

Agree with those who say that yes, drugs are bad and laws should be enforced (at least with hard drugs), but this is just a complete waste of resources when there are far more pressing concerns (inflation).

booze has probably destroyed
more lives than ALL drugs combined ever. But the powers that be
seem to think it is wonderful. Cigarettes must also be up there for
world-class life takers.

Neither booze nor cigs have completely disrupted societies the way cocaine derivatives, meth and opiates have (although in coke/crack's defense at least some of that is related to enforcement).

Crack messes up communities. Meth messes up communities. Opiates mess up communities. Opium caused massive societal problems in China, which is why pretty much every country in Asia takes a REALLY dim view of narcotics and similarly a dim view of westerners telling them they need to be more liberal when it comes to drugs.

Neither booze nor cigs have completely disrupted societies the way cocaine derivatives, meth and opiates have (although in coke/crack's defense at least some of that is related to enforcement).

This is.... ... really really *really* demonstrably false.
Alcohol *has* disrupted societies both more frequently, and more entirely than most other drugs.
It has devastated Native American and Australian aboriginal cultures, to the point that the term "liquid genocide" pops up fairly frequently. In the US, there are still areas where 1 in 4 of *all* first nation children have FAS. 

Although it's true that opium certainly hasn't been sitting on its thumbs either.

Agree with those who say that yes, drugs are bad and laws should be enforced (at least with hard drugs), but this is just a complete waste of resources when there are far more pressing concerns (inflation).
Neither booze nor cigs have completely disrupted societies the way cocaine derivatives, meth and opiates have (although in coke/crack's defense at least some of that is related to enforcement).

Crack messes up communities. Meth messes up communities. Opiates mess up communities. Opium caused massive societal problems in China, which is why pretty much every country in Asia takes a REALLY dim view of narcotics and similarly a dim view of westerners telling them they need to be more liberal when it comes to drugs.

Yep, absolute crap. Alcohol has been ripping through societies for 10,000 years.
Being addicted to meth is like being addicted to Twinkies.

Alcohol deaths in the USA 2015-2019: 140,000/year

https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/features/excessive-alcohol-deaths.html#:~:text=More%20than%20140%2C000%20people%20die,in%20the%20U.S.%20each%20year.

Opiate deaths in the USA 2020: 68,630

https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#:~:text=Opioid%2Dinvolved%20overdose%20deaths%20rose,(Source%3A%20CDC%20WONDER).

It has devastated Native American and Australian aboriginal cultures,

Fair point. Alcohol was to them what Opium was to China.

But aside from isolation cases due to zero exposure and tolerance, alcohol has NOT resulted in the kinds of meltdowns something like the Opium Wars, narco-trafficking in Latin America and Central Asia, and the devastation of the inner city.

Being addicted to meth is like being addicted to Twinkies.

How many people have lost their homes and jobs at a young age because they like Twinkies a bit too much? Anyone out there raiding their kids college fund to go buy a box of twinkies? Anyone stealing copper pipe off the side of a house for twinkie money?

Alcohol deaths in the USA 2015-2019: 140,000/year

Opiate deaths in the USA 2020: 68,630

If alcohol had the same effect as opiates or meth use on society, then Korean society would be essentially non-functional and akin to living in Somalia or Juarez or a housing project. You'd have rampant street crime, addiction-related theft, etc. All the houses here with exposed piping and metal just lying around would have that shielded. You wouldn't be able to leave your phone somewhere and find it returned. There would be massive joblessness and collapse of industry.

Alcohol and tobacco do cause deaths and externalities, but the results pretty clearly show those issues are not enough to severely disrupt society, prevent growth, lead to rampant violence, and lead to economic collapse and abandonment of education the way that societies centered around either the consumption or the production and distribution of narcotics are.

Fair point. Alcohol was to them what Opium was to China.

But aside from isolation cases due to zero exposure and tolerance, alcohol has NOT resulted in the kinds of meltdowns something like the Opium Wars, narco-trafficking in Latin America and Central Asia, and the devastation of the inner city.
How many people have lost their homes and jobs at a young age because they like Twinkies a bit too much? Anyone out there raiding their kids college fund to go buy a box of twinkies? Anyone stealing copper pipe off the side of a house for twinkie money?
If alcohol had the same effect as opiates or meth use on society, then Korean society would be essentially non-functional and akin to living in Somalia or Juarez or a housing project. You'd have rampant street crime, addiction-related theft, etc. All the houses here with exposed piping and metal just lying around would have that shielded. You wouldn't be able to leave your phone somewhere and find it returned. There would be massive joblessness and collapse of industry.

Alcohol and tobacco do cause deaths and externalities, but the results pretty clearly show those issues are not enough to severely disrupt society, prevent growth, lead to rampant violence, and lead to economic collapse and abandonment of education the way that societies centered around either the consumption or the production and distribution of narcotics are.

A lot depends on the user and their ability to afford their habit. There are plenty of functioning heroin addicts. Opiate use might actually increase productivity in Korea because workers would be spending less time in the restroom.

Or course, drug use is one reason why all those old fart rock bands are still on the road. The snorted millions and millions of dollars.

Opiates mess up communities. Opium caused massive societal problems in China, which is why pretty much every country in Asia takes a REALLY dim view of narcotics and similarly a dim view of westerners telling them they need to be more liberal when it comes to drugs.

I think you'd be surprised at the kinds of drugs you can get in China 

South Korea may be #1 in hard liquor consumption per capita (amazing giving Russia), but social problems caused by drugs back home  (even marijuana in my hometown Vancouver) have seemed OBVIOUSLY GREATER. Petty theft to feed addiction, homeless addicts, public displays of addiction, organized crime you can see on the streets,... none of this i've seen here but all of this i've witnessed back home.

(I am in no way condoning police arrests and jailing of addicts. There are several ways to address drug problems.)

South Korea may be #1 in hard liquor consumption per capita (amazing giving Russia), but social problems caused by drugs back home  (even marijuana in my hometown Vancouver) have seemed OBVIOUSLY GREATER. Petty theft to feed addiction, homeless addicts, public displays of addiction, organized crime you can see on the streets,... none of this i've seen here but all of this i've witnessed back home.

(I am in no way condoning police arrests and jailing of addicts. There are several ways to address drug problems.)

I think there's a lot more crime in Korea than people realize. There's a reason apartment complexes have security guards, locked outer doors and lower floor windows have bars on them. My favorite story is the guys who learned mountain climbing in jail and then used that skill to climb up apartment buildings to rob the higher up apartments.

have you ever considered, what if it was a war, comma, on drugs?  taking a drug and heading to war

“you have the wrong hook,” they say
“you never shoot in the air,” they say
“you don’t show,” they say
“you never show the spirit,” they say
“you have the wrong hook,” they say
“I’m trying to get from here to there,” they say
“I can’t get there,” they say
“I’m trying to show the reality,” they say
“I can’t,” they say
“I’m not trying to be a liar,” they say
- Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Hitler's war machine was powered by high grade, Breakn Bad style crystal methanmeptain , taking a much more malicious and calculating approach to the mass murder.

THE ISSUES: So, what would you do if you were a drug dealer (or a rogue billionaire) and you were the main pusher of the US government? You'd keep everything very black and white, wouldn't you? You'd be part of the national security establishment, fighting the bad guys. You'd be all about toughness and security. But you'd be also in the high class class section of the War on Drugs.A major priority of the war is the illusion of consent, or the illusion that the majority of the country thinks drugs are bad.So, you have an illegal war, that is working to the advantage of the high class oligarchs that the government is seeking to suppress. However, your mind also tells you that it's wrong, because this is what it is to be human.

Maybe war would be better, on drugs. Toot toot, pass the puff

EDIT: Splelling

have you ever considered, what if it was a war, comma, on drugs?  taking a drug and heading to war

“you have the wrong hook,” they say
“you never shoot in the air,” they say
“you don’t show,” they say
“you never show the spirit,” they say
“you have the wrong hook,” they say
“I’m trying to get from here to there,” they say
“I can’t get there,” they say
“I’m trying to show the reality,” they say
“I can’t,” they say
“I’m not trying to be a liar,” they say
- Joseph Heller, Catch 22

Hitler's war machine was powered by high grade, Breakn Bad style crystal methanmeptain , taking a much more malicious and calculating approach to the mass murder.

THE ISSUES: So, what would you do if you were a drug dealer (or a rogue billionaire) and you were the main pusher of the US government? You'd keep everything very black and white, wouldn't you? You'd be part of the national security establishment, fighting the bad guys. You'd be all about toughness and security. But you'd be also in the high class class section of the War on Drugs.A major priority of the war is the illusion of consent, or the illusion that the majority of the country thinks drugs are bad.So, you have an illegal war, that is working to the advantage of the high class oligarchs that the government is seeking to suppress. However, your mind also tells you that it's wrong, because this is what it is to be human.

Maybe war would be better, on drugs. Toot toot, pass the puff

EDIT: Splelling

Elvis got hooked on drugs while serving in Germany.

Here's what yonhap news decided to run today