https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031220835/california-bill-treatment-addiction

I do not think it is a good idea ...

doubledog said:

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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031220835/california-bill-treatment-addiction

I do not think it is a good idea ...

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I think it's a great way to increase the amount of people smoking and buying lottery tickets in California.

Addicts shouldn't be rewarded for being addicts and not touching their Vice. They should be sent to therapy to address why they are addicts in the first place. You want to solve the problem, cut off any welfare benefits for drug users and tell them the only free resources they are getting is from a state rehabilitation center. They will continue to get welfare benefits when they complete the training and remain clean.

Cue the great homeless westward migration of 2021-22. Florida might rise a few feet in elevation.

Lol. That's going to work well I'm sure.NOT!

So they're saying we should replace God with money....I don't see what could possibly go wrong here.

At least programs for addicts instruct them to seek out a "higher power" which for most appears to be a Judeo-Christian relationship with The God.

Oh, this won't be abused.

doubledog said:

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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031220835/california-bill-treatment-addiction

I do not think it is a good idea ...

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The basic problem with the rich white liberals that come up with this idiocy is they assume that everyone thinks like them. A person addicted to drugs isn't going to give up drugs for a little bit of cash, that is unless they can use that cash to buy more drugs.

I'm not going to automatically dismiss this. But I'd like a few questions answered:
1. Does this work and do we have the data to prove it?
2. Is it cheaper than the taxpayer funded costs of drug addiction (crime, hospitalizations, social workers).
3. What are the unintended consequence?

If done with a small pilot an and scaled up if we see promising answers to these questions then great.

So they will pay me to sit around and be addicted to drugs and/or alcohol?

I have to admit, in light of the ****show we are living in right now, this offer is a tad bit tempting. Is there an application or something for me to fill out?

I'm addicted to working. Can I get paid to sit on my ass instead?

I think it is in America's best interest to build a wall between California and the rest of the country. California is much more dangerous than Mexico.

New York is planning on paying people to not commit crimes, so it makes sense.

doubledog said:

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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031220835/california-bill-treatment-addiction

I do not think it is a good idea ...

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that is because this is a terrible idea proposed by those who wish to destroy the country (wolves in sheep's clothing)

How do they test if somebody is an addict ? Couldnt anybody just pretend to be a druggie

Why?
If they are stoned they might not realize their wallets are being drained?

doubledog said:

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https://www.npr.org/2021/08/26/1031220835/california-bill-treatment-addiction

I do not think it is a good idea ...

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California is the epicenter of bad ideas.

Malibu2 said:

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I'm not going to automatically dismiss this. But I'd like a few questions answered:
1. Does this work and do we have the data to prove it?
2. Is it cheaper than the taxpayer funded costs of drug addiction (crime, hospitalizations, social workers).
3. What are the unintended consequence?

If done with a small pilot an and scaled up if we see promising answers to these questions then great.

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From the NPR article

"The federal government has been doing it for years with military veterans and research shows it is one of the most effective ways to get people to stop using drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine, stimulants for which there are no pharmaceutical treatments available."

The difference, IMHO, is that we owe our veterans for their service (which may have contributed to their addictions). What (if anything) do we owe to the drop-out junkie?

If it is an effective way to treat addicts then perhaps Bill Gates (or some other charity) could fund it?

I have been sober for over 10 years. Is there backpay?

If it works then let's do it. If it doesn't don't. To frame it another way this is saying junkies are deserving of our public funds for the police that arrest them, jails that house them, and hospital bills we pay for but not deserving of funding to prevent that bad outcomes in the first place. It's pragmatism, and we shouldn't let the feels of our moral outrage at paying addicts stop effective programs that prevent addiction and it's externalities. This is true if it's a vet or 8th grade drop out eff up.