Quote Originally Posted by Skyybird View Post
Can it really be the case that such people do not at least have the human potential to make a change in their lives?
No.

Moderate drug users or people who have had a moderate run with drugs can that's true enough. Some people just don't get that far, don't compromise their morals that much and don't damage themselves permanently and may be able to get clean and may end up doing "ok" (not great mind you but ok). Personally I've done more coke than Fleetwood Mac and put it down after awhile because it was boring. I would wake up, find drugs, play video games, go out and stay up. Things I didn't do included crime.


Then there are people who use drugs long term and become hopelessly addicted and go out and commit violent crimes to further their drug use. We aren't talking about party girls here who use their mommy and daddies money (or in my case my gfs parents money) we are talking about hardcore long term street junkies. They have committed themselves to taking from other people.

They were dead to their families long before they were buried. Heroine can make you not human. The problem is that once you've lost that part of you it doesn't just come back. I've seen junkies clean up. Watched them go through therapy and come back to the real world. They aren't anything like the person they were before the drugs. They aren't anything like people who never got that far. Relationships they have with people aren't... the same. They aren't the same as relationships non addicts have with people. It just isn't possible considering the damage that was done both mentally and physically. That precious human life was destroyed by their own hands.

Addiction is something you carry around with you for the rest of your life. It will always be there and always be a part of you. You are forever changed. If you watch someone go from normal every day human through the addiction process you can actually watch them de-evolve. Watch the humanity stripped from them. I've never actually seen someone come back from it with any amount of potential.

This is without even bringing up the actual damage that is done to the brain.

Human potential aside...

Those who die from violence and crime aren't orphans for sure but what about the people that they've killed or could potentially kill. It seems that people are so quick to defend the criminal and have said things like "people who carry guns around are murderers". They say that about people who carry guns around to protect themselves. Is the same not true for that street junkie who needs a fix? It is not the person who defended themselves fault that the potential junkie died. It is the junkies fault. When you carry a weapon with the intent to threaten another humans life for the money in their pocket you are taking the risk that you will die. I wont be sorry for the loss of human life in that exchange. I don't feel that we as a society are losing anything from the junkie who is shot because he was holding a knife to someone.