WTF?? Robert Downey Jr arrested AGAIN for drugs!

[GreekGod]

Preach it NFS4!

Simple incidents like these can become huge problems for some ordinary joe schmoe walking the streets minding their business, when a doped up Downey Jr., goes bezerk on them, blowing that person away, just for looking at them!

I've seen this happen many times when I am out with the fella's and they are intoxicated, crazy sh*t happens!

I pray that they take Downey Jr., Strawberry, and Sheen and lock those Mofo's up for the rest of their pathetic lives. I hate it when fools get chance after chance to correct their mistakes, but blow it in the end. If it was me, my arse would be locked up in a jail sail with bubba being my husband!

 

[apoppin]

He was only arrested for drug possession. The police were called on a guns and drug complaint.

There is NO mention of ANY guns being found. (Obviously NONE were found.)

What we have is proof-positive that our current drug laws are expensive and ineffective. Obviously prison can't treat his addiction. There has to be a better way to save our resources.

Strangely, enlightened countries have found more effective ways to deal with the drug problem. The United States is still in the Dark Ages in this regard.

 

[FrogDog]

"Cocaine use, researchers have found, can both cause, and aggravate, the following symptoms:

Anxiety; Irritability; Undue excitability; Aggressiveness; Paranoia; Feelings of bugs crawling under the skin; Seeing, hearing and smelling things that are not there; Violence; Apathy, laziness, lethargy; Compulsive, repetitive behavior; Concentration Problems; Confusion; Memory problems, and Nervouseness and restlessness (jitters associated with both the use and withdrawl from the drug)"
(Link)

I wouldn't like to have people suffering from these symptoms walking around in my neighbourhood, would you? But what the hell, legalize it!

 

[NFS4]

<< Simple incidents like these can become huge problems for some ordinary joe schmoe walking the streets minding their business, when a doped up Downey Jr., goes bezerk on them, blowing that person away, just for looking at them! >>


What scares me even more is a &quot;clean&quot; Mike Tyson who would rip out my heart and feed it to his dobermans for looking at him the wrong way:Q

Maybe we otta do reverse pyschology...lock em up in prison in a small jail cell and give them all the cocaine, pot, methaphetamines, crank, and PCP, that they want and see how long they last.

 

[Dedpuhl]

&quot;a leopard doesn't change its spots&quot;

&quot;rehabilitation&quot; simply does not work. If the court system would throw the book at these people the first time, we would not have any problems. But the question arises: does a drug user belong in the same prison as a murderer/rapist/etc..? You damn skippy. They intentionally broke the law, therefore, they deserve to be locked up.


In the case of Mr. Downey, it proves that money = power. Joe Blow would be rotting in jail with big bubba to keep 'em warm...

 

[apoppin]

FrogDog, click on your same link and look at the effects for &quot;alcohol&quot;:

<<Two out of 3 murders, 1 of 3 rapes, 1 out of 3 suicides, 2 out of 5 assaults, and 3 out of 5 cases of child abuse are connected to the use of alcohol. One out of 2 deaths by fire and drowning are alcohol related, as are 2 out of 5 home accidents. 25,000 American's die in alcohol related crashes every year, or 1 out of 2 fatalities.>>

Yet alcohol is promoted, sold openly, taxed and advertised.

Definitely, something needs to be done. However, what the US is doing is NOT working. We are punnishing drug users instead of helping them. The ENLIGHTENED European model WORKS - ours DOESN'T. We haven't tried effective &quot;rehabilitation.&quot;

 

[FrogDog]

But look at it this way. Don't do drugs, don't go to jail. Easy as that!

 

[sd]

send em away!! He doesn't deserve to make that kinda money. What a total loser.

 

[apoppin]

Perhaps easy for you, FrogDog. But not for approximately 10% of the population. Should millions suffer from an archaic system that does nothing to help them?

Should the rest of us be penalized by an horrendously expensive wasteful and ineffective system?

 

[Viper GTS]

Should millions suffer from an archaic system that does nothing to help them?

Our &quot;system&quot; is NOT intended to help people. It's supposed to protect the rest of us from the idiots holed up in hotel rooms with guns &amp; drugs. If you're not smart enough to give up the drugs, that's your own dumb fault.

Viper GTS

 

[apoppin]

Viper GTS, first of all there were NO guns.

Secondly, our &quot;system&quot; is a total failure since we are NOT protected. We do not get our money's worth.

Finally, there are other more enlightened nations on this planet who's system does work.

Try doing a little research.

 

[FrogDog]

But how much less would it cost for rehabilitation centers all over the US? I really have no idea on what the cost of jails are, but I can't see jails costing that much more money than rehabilitation centers.

However I do agree with you, these people do need help to get off the drugs that they are addicted to. It just really bothers me when people say

<< If the guy wants to fry his brains let him >>

, which implies to me atleast, that they want the drug legalized. So then you've got even more people (a lot being teenagers) out there doing cocain and pot. I'm sorry, but to me that doesn't bode well for society as a whole.

 

[Viper GTS]

There may not have been guns in this instance, but frequently drugs &amp; guns go hand in hand. Also, if read the MSN link, you'd have seen:

His legal troubles began in 1996 when he was stopped for speeding and authorities found cocaine, heroin and a pistol in his vehicle.

So obviously he has a history of mixing drugs &amp; guns. So how unreasonable would it be to assume that there may have been guns involved this time? Especially since the &quot;anonymous tip&quot; specifically mentioned drugs and guns?

While I agree that our system does an inadequate job of protecting us, I do NOT expect it to help the criminal. That's not what it's there for.

Do your own goddamned research.

Viper GTS

 

[FrogDog]

I agree, Viper. However, I think helping the criminal and protecting the people in this case go hand in hand. When the drug user comes out of jail, he is probably going to continue to use drugs (he's obviously not to bright if he started to use them in the first place), so then there is still a possibly violent drug user on the streets.

 

[apoppin]

It would cost FAR less dollars for rehabilitation than prison. That has already been proven in other countries. Prison is very expensive - to say nothing of the millions of wasted human lives that rehabilitation would recover.

As far as guns go, it is a well-known fact that the police will arrive far quicker if guns are involved.

EDIT: I HAVE done my own research; obviously Viper GTS, you don't care about helping PEOPLE with drug problems and haven't bothered to research anything.

Stop dehumanizing PEOPLE with problems by calling them criminals. They are PEOPLE (like you and me) and they CAN be HELPED).

 

[Viper GTS]

Actually, I'm all for rehab programs while they're serving their prison sentences. Hell, count their time spent in rehab towards their sentence. But if they get out &amp; go right back to where they were before... They blew their chance, how long do we have to cater to them?

I'm not dehumanizing anybody, I'm saying we don't owe them an infinite number of chances. What's that saying? Something to the effect of &quot;Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.&quot; The same could be said for Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, etc. They're just people with problems, right? With those &quot;problems,&quot; they (hopefully) don't get another chance. Drug users usually DO get multiple chances. I'd say Mr. Downey has long since received all his chances.

Viper GTS

 

[dennilfloss]

People seem to ignore the fact that the person who informed the police simply did his/her duty as a law-abiding citizen. Reporting a crime in progress is a duty, not a priviledge.

As for prison not having curbed Mr. Downey's addiction, it won't by itself. But he certainly did not spend enough time in gaol, under harsh enough conditions to give him a major incentive to resist his addiction. Giving someone a 'vacation' isn't much of a deterrent.

Ramble On (Led Zeppelin)

 

[FrogDog]

<< People seem to ignore the fact that the person who informed the police simply did his/her duty as a law-abiding citizen. Reporting a crime in progress is a duty, not a priviledge. >>



Exactly. I wish everyone saw it that way.

 

[apoppin]

<< Actually, I'm all for rehab programs while they're serving their prison sentences. >>


That would be a major improvement. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. The system is set up to punnish, not to educate or rehabilitate.

More than 90% of the drup users are repeat offenders. That is the system's fault, not theirs. Proof is found in other countries that have FAR better rehab statistis AND much less cost to the taxpayer.

EDIT: I'm not here to judge Mr. Downey, make excuses for him or the number of &quot;chances&quot; he had. All I am saying is that our system is not effective in dealing with drug users and we are all paying way too much for it.

 

[FrogDog]

<< That is the system's fault, not theirs >>


I disagree. No body's got a gun to their head. The addcition might be strong, but it's not _that_ strong.

 

[apoppin]

<< The addiction might be strong, but it's not_that_strong. >>


How do you know? Do you think these people LIKE prison? Evidently it IS that strong. It has been likened to a disease - just like alcoholism. Some people continue smoke tobacco even though they are certain it will kill them.

Addicts need treatment not (just) prison.

 

[FrogDog]

Red,
Would you rather your tax money go towards paying their welfare because their life is ruined and they can't get/keep a job?

 

[apoppin]

You didn't ask me FrogDog, but I'll answer your question for myself.

I'd rather pay for their rehabilitation so they can return to being useful members of society rather than paying for their incarceration and lifetime of welfare anyway.

Remember, these are not &quot;criminals&quot;, they are people with drug problems.

 

[FrogDog]

As would I, apponin.

Although untill a law is passed that says otherwise, they're criminals to me.

 

[Viper GTS]

Red...

Like the DA's going to prosecute anyone for oral sex. They'd probably laugh in your face if you tried to turn yourself in for it.

Viper GTS