Legality and ethics of marijuana and other drugs

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
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[color=#0000FF]Mod’s note: split from viewtopic.php?f=8&t=155805&p=1738515#p1738508
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Through his suicide he has already achieved something: People here actually mourn his death, pity him and a quick sampling of the posts in this thread indicate a significant tendency not to criticise him for committing a crime. Many even play down the offence committed as if breaking the law in a foreign country is nothing. He would not have received so much sympathy had he simply accepted the due punishment for his actions.

Hardly anyone here even considers the moral turpitude and social cost to associated with actions - both the drug related crime and the effect on his own children. This guy did not care about the consequences his drugs had on others and even in his death he was self-absorbed.

I do not want to bash a dead guy, but this thread is slowly turning into an unreflected and delusional apologetic for his behaviour and people like him severely damage the reputation of Westerners in this society.

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I dunno. The guys I know or vaguely know who’ve done time here say they weren’t treated too bad. Conditions aren’t great of course, but its not like the worst banged up abroad jails.[/quote]

I knew him. He had guts, wasn’t afraid of much. It wasn’t fear that made him do this. Depression, more likely.[/quote]

Poor thing. If only he could have been distracted, for a while, to break that thought loop. I’m really sorry you lost someone in that way.[/quote]

Thank you. He cut me off 5-6 years ago. I should have recognized that for what it was (probably stress-related) and tried harder to reestablish contact. Lesson learned the hard way.[/quote]

Depressed people do that. I do that. It’s a coping strategy, and a tricky one because it’s not helpful to isolate yourself, but it’s certainly easier to live day-to-day.

[quote]
Hardly anyone here even considers the moral turpitude and social cost to associated with actions - both the drug related crime and the effect on his own children. This guy did not care about the consequences his drugs had on others and even in his death he was self-absorbed. [/quote][/quote]

Because that would a fucking disgraceful way for a person to conduct himself towards a dead stranger and those who loved him. Crowing over the violent death of a mentally ill man, the actions of whom even the courts of Taiwan said was only worth a four year sentence, would be no way to honour his children or to alleviate ‘social cost’.

You understand that people who are not emotionally and cognitively well and healthy don’t do a full SWOT analysis before sticking scissors in their throats? And that as such, condemning a man for making this kind of illogical, permanent and far-reaching decision is in itself not the thinking of a person who is quite following the whole ‘cause and effect’ thing? You need to reflect. Have a bit of compassion and empathy: go and make a donation if you are so concerned about ze poor drug orphans. His friends and family are reading your great thoughts.

Yes, suicide and is selfish, and drugs are bad. Congratulations on discovering the keys to the universe. You should totally write a book. :unamused:

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[quote=“Taiwan_Student”]On Being Kicked Out of the Country after doing time…

[quote=“tommy525”]

What are the rules? How much of the stuff can you legally have? I’ve been to two “foreigner” parties in my twenty years of being here and twice there saw someone with that stuff and I promptly left. That was a long time ago.
The movie Taiwan oyster made me feel as if pot use is a part of Foreigner culture. I honestly wish they would just delete pot from popular culture movies, especially where it is illegal, I don’t know how to show those movies to my children and say it’s funny but you should not do it.
.[/quote][/quote]

I’m sorry, that is the most ridiculous generalization ever that it’s part of “foreigner culture,” you must not know about all the locals who enjoy recreational use, from business owners to creative professionals to artists.

People die from alcohol poisoning, drunk driving,cigarette smoking and far worse things that pot. No one does from pot use. You just sit at home and eat.

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On the contrary, I think most people on here did consider his illegal actions, and weighed them against the effect on the overall society. I do not condone what he did, but the social consequences were low, even if his plants had blossomed and he’d gone on to sell his ‘drugs’. This was not a meth-lab, a melting pot of simmering chemicals, but rather a gardening operation.

You may not like pot, just as others don’t like tobacco. But there’s no reason not to see the bigger picture here.

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This November CAlifornia will decide if it will legalize the growing and the open sale of Cannabis. It will likely become decriminalized and widely (even more widely) used in the decade to come . Especially for those suffering from chronic pain.

One of my best buds lost his wife not long ago and she had to use cannabis constantly to give some relief to her chronic stomach cancer pains. It was a great relief to her. There is medical proof that it is beneficial to many suffering chronic pain. I smoked it once briefly and all it did was give me a headache, so does nothing for me but it helps many. If i was in chronic pain and this works, I sure as hell would want to have ready access !

There was no evidence that the deceased was pushing drugs or had the intent to push cannabis after he grew them. For all we know his intentions may have been to study the growth of cannabis and move back to the USA (possibly California) and grow it legally at some point.

It was obviously not smart to grow cannabis on Taiwan. It was a mistake. I don’t know the person. But I gather that:

  1. The court was handing him a sentence for possession. The court did not intend that he should commit suicide and thus give himself a DEATH sentence. It was on record that the event was deemed extremely regrettable. He could have chosen to appeal and could have gotten a lesser sentence. He could also have gotten out without serving the full 4 years. It was not the court’s intention that he should suffer DEATH (even by his own hands).

  2. Those that knew him have spoken FOR him.

  3. He had a wife and children who’s lives are considerably affected by his taking of his life.

I don’t think he should be thought of as a career CRIMINAL. A person who did something illegal , yes. And it was intended that he be punished for this illegal activity with a light sentence. He was not given 20 years or life in prison, for example. 4 years and probably less.

Those of us who have lived some time and have gone through hard times, have at times thought about ending it all. Lucky most of us have found the way out and keep plodding on. But stories like these are sad because it could have been another place, another time, another situation, but could be any one of US.

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For those in doubt, listen to a respected physician who also had doubt.