British Expats - Drug Use

British Expats (https://britishexpats.com/forum/)

- Middle East (https://britishexpats.com/forum/middle-east-60/)

- - Drug Use (https://britishexpats.com/forum/middle-east-60/drug-use-925499/)

Do not do it is my advice -

https://stv.tv/news/west-central/143...QEvfKKGPTK-LO4

I speak as one who had problems with alcohol and as one who has observed family members use and lose.

There's no cure for stupidity, well other than the one she self-administered. :lol:

That is the second "burst bag" death I have read of in the past few days, though I suspect her death was more foreseeable as it was apparently a spur-of-the-moment, improvised bag swallowing that she performed, not a more carefully planned and organized bulk smuggling plan (which the other death was).

So much F’d up stuff in that story

- mum of 3
- teacher
- 42
- first class lounge
- trying to save 60quids worth of stuff by taking it to Dubai

Stupidity has no bounds. I feel sorry for the kids.

A "sensible" user (if there are any) would have flushed it down the toilet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scot47 (Post 12693349)

A "sensible" user (if there are any) ...

By which I assume you mean "anyone with an ounce, or even a few grams :sneaky:, of sense wouldn't have touched it in the first place." :nod:

Totally utterly stupid. With time before the flight and waiting around at the airport, more than enough time to stick £60 up your nose. Such a waste.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonthaburi (Post 12693653)

Totally utterly stupid. With time before the flight and waiting around at the airport, more than enough time to stick £60 up your nose. Such a waste.

waste of life or waste of drugs?

I’m holding back my true thoughts out of respect for the kids.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nonthaburi (Post 12693653)

Totally utterly stupid. With time before the flight and waiting around at the airport, more than enough time to stick £60 up your nose. Such a waste.

This seems to skate along the edge of BE Site Rule #3. :unsure:

Really tragic story in particular as she had family and seemed to have a lot of positive things going on in her life.
My perception is that drugs are an ever present temptation for many in the UK, particularly people who want to appear cool and popular. A lot of my uni friends in London continue to dabble when out parting even as they age into their 30s /40s. I can imagine how how a normally smart person when a little drunk or wired from partying might make a daft decision like she did.
With the strict laws in the GCC i would not consider it and generally appreciate the benefits of not having the temptation.

“ ... drugs are an ever oresent temptation for many ... “

Because the juduciary persist in handing out ‘slap on the wrist’ punishments. The police bust a cannabis farm, say, and take cannabis plants with a street value of over £50,000. To provide the heat and light this normally involves theft of electricity, too. And often takes place in either housing association or council owned properties. The punishment? A fine and a community service order and, just possibly, a suspended sentence. Where’s the deterrent? Likewise people getting caught with hard drugs. Confiscation and a fine if it’s deemed to be for personal use and, again, as long as it’s not a car load, a fine, a community service order and perhaps a suspended sentence.

This isn’t new - it’s been normal practice for years. Before we moved to the ME in 2005 we lived in a small Sussex village (pop. 1,500). Everybody (users and non-users alike) knew that if you wanted to ‘score’ you just had to go to a particular house and you would be able to get whatever you wanted. In the 20 years we lived there I can only recall them getting busted once and, even then, they didn’t get a custodial sentence.

The laws in the UK relating to drugs aren’t ‘fit for purpose’. The police spend, and waste, thousands of pounds and man hours planning and executing drugs operation and for what? To see the culprits released ‘under investigation’ (the new term for ‘on bail’ which has been a joke because nobody ever has to put up bail anyway) after which they don’t bother to appear in court when summonsed or, if they do, just get their ‘slap on the wrist’ and sent home.

Opium Use destroyed The Chinese Empire in the 19th century. Our society is now set on self-destruction in the same way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by scot47 (Post 12693948)

Opium Use destroyed The Chinese Empire in the 19th century. Our society is now set on self-destruction in the same way.

The rate at which opiates are killing Americans, I have been wondering how long it will take for the problem to "burn itself out"? Though I can't help but wonder if legalizing a gateway drug has just increased the market for other illegal narcotics? :unsure:

Quote:

Originally Posted by hnd (Post 12693946)

The problem in both the UK and US is the lack of political will to go after the users - basic economics tells us that if you try to reduce the supply, by targeting suppliers, all you will do is increase the price, and therefore the motivation for other suppliers to enter the market.

If you want to reduce the drug problem you need a way to reduce the demand, which means (i) an effective drug treatment program, (ii) an effective program to keep new users (children) from starting, and (iii) a willingness to incarcerate chronic users who won't stop using. If you have all those in place then a "throw away the key" sentencing policy for wholesale traffickers would be the icing on the cake, but at the moment there is no cake to put any icing on. :(

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pulaski (Post 12694081)

You raise a good point.

The solution for prostitution is apparently to cut demand and not supply. The solution for drug use is apparently to cut supply and not the demand. Both are incorrect strategies. The reality is both will continue regardless of supply-demand dynamics.

The real issue is the UK is the social acceptance of casual drug taking. A middle-aged teacher with three kids who does it for fun with her husband is a great example of social acceptance. My guess is her parents probably knew but turned a blind eye or at least some friends (who was she in the lounge with). Just as drink driving was once socially acceptable but through education and cultural change it is no longer acceptable, drug use has gone the other way.