Drugs in Portugal: Did Decriminalization Work?

I've read about the "coffee shops", in Holland, they are shops that offers cannabis . If you want to buy a cup of real coffee, you have to go to "café." I can't believe that such shops can just stand on the street and sell what is regarded as forbidden drug to us. However on the second thought, I guess they don't think it a big deal to get hypotized as a mean to acquire relief from stress as long as the civilian don't do themselves harm or commit crime because of that. In that way, the effect of cannabis works the same as coffee and tea—to relieve our stress or to perk us up. It being forbidden is just based on different view point. Speaking of forbidden, I think it's a smart move to ecriminalize drug using and possessing. First it's psychology, we all know one would more want to have a taste of what is forbidden. If the drug is no longer prohibited, the maze that outshines the harm would disapear and the evilness be seen more clearly. Secondly, it's about the efficiency, the Portugal goverment budget the money for healing instead of jail, which cost money without curing the addicted, is very helpful to cut down the drug using rate ,and moreover, is the opportuniy to provide jobs to the psychologist. Third, They can further use the money saved to education the people about the harmful side effect of doing drugs as the prevention. Sometimes the best solution could be the one seems the most improper. The ou-of-the-box policy goes works well till now. I hope the future drug using situation in Portugal will be still optimistic.

MY OPINOIN ON THE FACEBOOK

I'm old-school. I don't agree with the friendship via any kind of social website such as Facebook. I say so because I actually use Myspace and Facebook, but I gradually sense the emptiness and distance that alienate the users. The reason lies in that the so-called "intimate feeling" is only one sided--to know the trifle of others while not really interacting with each other.As described in the journal."I know her sledding expedition and what she'd cooked for that big birthday dinner."Even you do have close friends on the website, there's barely any emotional connection exist.Unlike real life, it doesn't hurt to lose one "friend" there, because there's no emotional bound.It really disappoints me that the emotion and care for people are even digitalized. Just like what it says, "the constant stream of data is a digital form of closeness." The users are only confusing the friendship with sensation. We see the self satisfaction clearly here,"it makes me feel like I have a grip on my world".There's no exchange of thought, feelings, but what to satisfy one's own need of belonging.This form of connection ultimately brings melancholy to the users, for it's impossible to develop real one through the lifeless Internet. I can only reckon the convenience of connecting, having the premise of distance.But to develop friendship or maintain friendship by the network as Facebook is only fake, in that human connection barely exists.