I was complaining about smoking in public places. Precisely because of health reasons smoking in and around public spaces was limited a few years ago. I’m rather sensitive (asthma & more) and I much more often smell weed than tobacco in these types of areas. At the central station almost always. One of the many reasons I’m glad to be able to avoid public transit nowadays. Besides how the smoke of tobacco and weed affects me, I also find the smell nauseating.
Besides, to me it seems pike almost every category of drug users have an excuse for why theirs is “less bad”. Most often with alcohol it’s “well it’s only an issue of people drink too much”. Fact is that almost all drug usage affects peoples behaviour and becomes a nuisance in public spaces.
I feel you in avoiding public transit. That’s where my hate comes from as well. And yes, many people that do these things have have excuses. Because they need to, to justify doing their business in a place where their habit unavoidably harms and frustrates other people. I hate the fact we still allow that so readily as society. Or at least we should restrict it further to the point a normal person doesn’t have to be bothered by people like that in public. It undermines public services to an extent.
But after I no longer needed to use public transit, I did start to see things in a slightly different light. And that’s the only thing I wanted to say. People that are conscientious about enjoying any kind of mind altering substances will choose to do so safely and harmlessly outside of public, or in designated places like clubs specifically for that substance. Harm reduction must be central to substance use. And I know now that many people have that mentality. But that mentality is somewhat threatened exactly because they make sure nobody is bothered by them. It causes the experience to be defined by those people in public places, the loud minority.
