NYT columnist rejects the 'good liberal' stance on drugs, blames 'permissive liberal culture' on west coast

New York Times sentiment columnist Nicholas Kristof admitted Saturday that westbound seashore liberals’ "permissive" stance connected drugs has been the incorrect approach. 

The columnist authored a piece admitting that the much hands off, little punitive attack to dealing with drugs has backfired, astir starring to the decease of 1 of his aged friends.

"Yet it’s besides existent that Drew’s astir caller tumble into addiction came successful portion due to the fact that of a permissive wide civilization toward drugs connected the West Coast. This was meant to beryllium compassionate, but it astir killed him (and has killed galore of my different friends)," the columnist reflected. 

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New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof condemned West Coast states' "permissive" attack to dealing with cause addiction successful caller column. (Fox News)

Prominent westbound seashore cities, similar San Francisco and Portland, person been ravaged by a cause situation successful caller years. Coincidentally, section laws regarding cause possession person been relaxed. Oregon, for example, decriminalized possession of idiosyncratic amounts of drugs successful 2021, leaving Portland leaders struggling to ace down connected nationalist cause use.

Critics person accused California’s Proposition 47 – signed into instrumentality successful 2014 – of deteriorating San Francisco, arsenic it reclassified six insignificant felony offenses arsenic misdemeanors successful the authorities of California – including shoplifting little than $950 and cause possession.

In his column, Kristof admitted to waking up from his ain content that these much compassionate policies were bully for the assemblage aft seeing what befell his friend, a stateless fentanyl addict.

"As a bully liberal, I utilized to reason arresting radical for utilizing drugs. They request wellness care, not handcuffs, I thought. But past to my astonishment and dismay, I recovered myself praying that my aged pal Drew Goff would beryllium arrested," the columnist reflected.  

Kristof noted however Portland’s cause laws were truthful lax compared to laws regarding intoxicant oregon cigaret consumption, stating, "In Portland, a idiosyncratic could beryllium arrested for drinking a brew connected the sidewalk but until precocious not for smoking fentanyl. Smoking cigarettes successful nationalist places was often constricted oregon banned connected the West Coast portion fentanyl usage was tolerated."

The file volition look successful Sunday's people variation of The New York Times. 

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People walk by a pistillate successful a wheelchair panhandling adjacent Union Square successful San Francisco, Thursday, Dec. 2, 2021. In San Francisco, stateless tents, unfastened cause use, location break-ins and soiled streets person proliferated during the pandemic. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

Kristof broke down the situation astatine large, writing, "The United States has mislaid much than 1 cardinal radical to overdoses since 2000 — much than the fig of Americans mislaid successful each wars successful the past 150 years enactment together, including some World Wars."

However, the writer did not revert to advocating for the pugnacious connected transgression policies pushed by Republicans, reserving plentifulness of disapproval for that. He added, "Drew’s travel constitutes a rebuke to liberals and conservatives alike. Drew is the 3rd procreation successful his household to wrestle with addiction, and his beingness reflects the nonaccomplishment of the right’s half-century warfare connected drugs, fought with lone the transgression justness toolbox." 

He declared that "neither Democrats nor Republicans person tackled the occupation with the seriousness oregon nuance it deserves."

Still, helium kept his absorption connected the information that West Coast areas decriminalizing and destigmatizing cause use has fueled the crisis. 

"Oregon decriminalized possession of tiny amounts of hard drugs successful a 2020 referendum, and Drew says that the deficiency of penalties played a relation successful his determination to instrumentality to drugs. ‘The benefits outweighed the consequences for me,’ helium said."

The writer pointed retired that portion promoting little punitive cause policies, radical connected the West Coast became excessively reluctant to "judge people’s choices," a dynamic that led to the cause situation spiraling. 

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He cited the enforcement manager of a Portland-based addiction prevention center, who articulated the due attack radical should person to addicts: "’It’s not OK to stigmatize cause users,’ helium told me. "It is imperative to stigmatize cause use.’"

Kristof added the director’s constituent that harm reduction saves lives, but the champion mode to prevention lives is to found "norms against cause use."

The writer past offered his ain solutions to the situation that blend compassion for addicts with much accepted measures similar incarceration.

"The accusation is that we should beryllium little dogmatic and navigate a mediate path. The close reaches instinctively for transgression sanctions, and the near for supportive harm reduction, but an effectual toolbox requires some sticks and carrots."

Mentioning his person erstwhile again, who helium said got his beingness backmost acknowledgment to attraction programs portion successful jail, Kristof wrote, "Drew made mediocre choices, but there’s plentifulness of blasted to spell around. Conservatives resisted the societal information nett that mightiness person helped him successful childhood, and liberals coddled him with a nonjudgmental tolerance that mired him successful addiction. Whatever our politics, we each request a rethink."'

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