Posted by moonpie on July 5, 2008 at 6:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Unfortunate but a life of drug use usually ends up this way.

Posted by majorjohnson on July 5, 2008 at 7:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Not sure where you got that. Most of the people in the country have used drugs of some sort at some point and haven't ended up beaten to death. I'd say a very minor proportion of people who use drugs end up in the gutter.

Posted by PalmettoHawk on July 5, 2008 at 8:57 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The_Mouth_of_the_South says, "I know, I know, there are people who use drugs and alcohol that don't end up in poverty, but nobody who stays sober ends up this way."

Do you know that for certain? They lose a job, lose their dwelling, sleep in a car if they haven't lost that, can't keep themselves or their clothes clean because they don't have access to a shower or washer/dryer. Can't interview or get hired because of their appearance. They can't shower or wash their clothes because they have no job. They can't eat because they have no job. It goes round and round...in a vicious cycle. They may lose hope and stop trying sooner or later.

I would conceed that a fair amount of the people living on the streets might be there due to drug or alcohol use/abuse and their emphasis for getting the next high. It certainly applies to the on sibling in this story. Sometimes it is a matter which is forced upon the unfortunate.

Posted by metallic on July 5, 2008 at 9 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"The_Mouth_of_the_South" posted:

>>>So much for the myth that drugs should be legalized.<<<

This is the perfect example of why drugs SHOULD be legalized.

There would be no violent drug dealers -- beating to death addicts that owed them money -- if drugs were legal, because drugs would be sold for pennies per fix.

Drug abusers would have some chance to live a more normal life -- not under a highway overpass -- since they would not have to impoverish themselves to support their habit.

Some European countries with a more enlightened view about drug abuse demonstrate this. Heroine addicts that would be living on the streets if they were in the U.S., live productive lives since they have their drugs available to them at low cost through legal channels.

Posted by NativeSC on July 5, 2008 at 9:24 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Yeah Metallic, I am sure heroin addicts live productive lives. What fantasy world do you live in? Just because it is legal, it doesn't mean it doesn't cause tons of problems. Funny that you would think that a country that legalizes drugs would be "enlightened". There are so many other factors involved that just legalizing drugs wouldn't cause all of these problems to disappear. But hey, let's just raise everyone's taxes so we can pay for heroin, coke, crack, and whatever else that addicts need in an attempt to stop crime. Great idea.

Posted by Eye_on_You on July 5, 2008 at 9:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)

PalmettoHawk, sounds like you have experience in this

Posted by cpanther515 on July 5, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Alcohol ia a legal drug and there are still people who abuse
it also!

Posted by majorjohnson on July 5, 2008 at 10:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)

The people who think drugs should be legalized would be the loudest whiners if it were alcohol being prohibited. People act like Al Capone and Dutch Shultz selling beer and booze were somehow different than the black guy with all the bling selling crack and cocaine. Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it, and so are those who are just too stupid to recognize that they can't do with drugs what they did with alcohol and somehow achieve different results.

Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

There are more homeless people because of alcohol abuse than drug abuse. Alcohol is legal. The beating was related to an illegal drug deal. There is some food for thought.

Also, the state already pays for drug rehabilitation.
Anyone can go to the hospital and get free methadone.
Methadone, used to treat heroin addicts, is more deadly than heroin itself. What is worse, is that the pharmaceutical companies make billions of it.
Makes you think huh? There are legal drug dealers (The Pharmaceutical Companies) supported by the government. Doctors push these legal drugs on people, making them forever dependent on them.
My good friend died of a methadone overdose that his doctor prescribed to him.
My cousin killed herself when her doctor switched her antidepressants.

Legalization won't stop people from taking drugs, but it will stop the vicious cycle of drug violence because it will be controlled by the pharmaceutical companies.

What killed this man was not drugs, it was the illegality of those drugs. He was killed by drug violence.

Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 10:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Also, good for you Post & Courier for writing this story.
I find this much more interesting and important than the Dave Mathews story

Posted by hartley8184 on July 5, 2008 at 10:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Legalizing drugs for the reasons given by some of the folks here carries the same sort of logic for pedophiliacs. If we just legalize sex with underage kids, than it would take away the incentive for the perpetrator to murder them in order to escape detection. I mean heck, we already have taxpayer funded psychotherapy for them. Plus, without the stigma of criminality attached, they would be able to lead productive lives.

Of course, this sort of insanity is just what some liberals will eventually propose in real life. Along with mandatory euthanasia at age 65 (except for the politicians the rich and the well connected, of course).

Posted by bubbbie on July 5, 2008 at 10:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm not sure I want all drugs legalized, I really don't think anyone should be shooting heroin but if you did legalize all the things we already abuse we could tax the heck out of the stuff to fund all the drug treatment and education programs. Legalizing would also make the drugs a lot safer because we could control quality and potency. And just like I can only by X amount of Claritin D per month we could also make it difficult to get too much of the stuff.

Let's face it drugs aren't going away and our current way of dealing with the problem isn't working. If it was working we wouldn't be reading about Sadiris!

Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 10:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

hartley8184
I believe legalization will end drug related violence, not drug abuse.
Look at what happened in the 1920's when alcohol was prohibited. It started a wave of mafia, and gang related violence and trafficking. . It started with the illegal sale of alcohol, and progressed to the sale of any substance that will f*&k someone up.

This man did not die of a drug overdose. He died from drug related violence.

And if I may put my 2 cents in, nobody has ever died of marijuana consumption. Nobody has ever ended up living under a bridge because of marijuana abuse (it's not addictive).
Yet, it is ILLEGAL. If you look into it, it all goes back to the corporations and money, not the well being of the people.

Posted by hartley8184 on July 5, 2008 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Metallic says:

"If drugs were legal, they would be sold for pennies a fix..."

HAHAHAHHAQHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA And I bet this guy is the first one to rage against big tobacco and pharmacueticals and oil corporations. Legalize drugs and I see lawyers suing "big methadone" in fifty years because they "misled the public." Suing them so they can make billions more off the addictions of others. Cigarettes are legal, and they cost 8 bucks a pack in New York. That's 24 bucks a day for a hardcore smoker. That's 600 bucks a month dude. Why, if I smoked on my salary, I'd have to rob convenience stores to feed my need.

Now, here is some sane analysis of the premise:

Take a look at the drug use statistics WORLDWIDE. See how OTHER countries stack up against the weak, liberal driven sissified joke justice of the US... in terms of punishment, recidivism and social effects. In reality, drugs will never be legalized worldwide. Totalitarian states tend to have the most restrictive drug laws, and for a reason. And their approach works. There's always going to be a certain segment of the population that cannot escape the deletrious effects of abuse, but the government has a responsibility to limit that percentage as much as possible. At the far end of the spectrum, drug addicts like the guys in this story will NEVER be able to hold productive jobs. That's one of the reasons drugs are illegal. Because they destroy people.

Farfellaspeaks: Of course there are more homeless people because of alcohol because alcohol is legal. So too is gambling, credit abuse and even not wanting to work for a living. No kidding. So this is a case for legalizing drugs????? This is amazing deconstructivism.

Posted by bkeelin on July 5, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Dare to be indignant because some things are just stupid. Legalizing drugs is one of them. This is the kind of thinking that comes from a Godless society.

I know how to stop all crime. Just make everything legal and then we won't need to build any more jails. People will have the freedom to do whatever they want and no one can force thier morals on anyone else, hey that sounds good doesn't it. We can cut government spending too because we won't need law enforcement anymore either.

Please note the sarcasm.

Posted by hartley8184 on July 5, 2008 at 11:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

farfellaspeaks: I believe legalization will end drug related violence, not drug abuse.

How do you figure? Drug addicts CAN'T hold jobs. That's a problem. Drug addicts CAN'T take care of their kids. That's a problem. Drug addicts CAN'T function normally; That's a problem. Legalize drug use for who? Doctors? Airline pilots? Cops? Soldiers? The guy who wires your house for electricity? The woman who cooks your food at the restaurant? Drug users overwhelmingly become addicted. They become miserable and unhappy and regretful. Drug addicts CAN'T control their behaviour. They become psychotic, irrational and violent. It's a quality of the brain damage that drugs cause. They sometimes kill their kids because the devil speaks to them from inside their pet dog. They exchange sex for drugs. They sell their children for drugs.

Posted by hartley8184 on July 5, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

By the way, farfellaspeaks, you don't know much about marijuana either. It is addictive, and it can induce a variety of mental illnesses, as well as enhance them. I know it firsthand. Saying that marijuana is harmless is like saying that eating lead based paint is harmless, like saying that breathing asbestos is harmless.

Posted by mrmachi on July 5, 2008 at 11:25 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This story has nothing to do with drugs. It is all about the choices that these losers made throughout their lives. “was mostly recreational” – I’m sorry, but if you live under a bridge and you are doing anything OTHER than working, you are a first class loser. How nice that the brother FINALLY asked him to live with him after the other brother was killed. He should have left his but on the street. He will now get a free place to live and all the chances for recreational drug use he can stand.

Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Let's talk about drug related violence, which is what the story is really all about. More of the problem lies in the ILLEGAL SALE of drugs than the actual abuse of them.

The War On Drugs is NOT WORKING. Besides, these days you can get plenty of LEGAL drugs that are just as strong and addictive, if not more so.

Marijuana should be legalized. Why not? It's not addictive, and it never killed anyone. In fact it's good for you. It helps with depression, nausea, glaucoma, and scientists are finding it may even cure cancer. No hangovers, no side effects.
Also, hemp has proven to be a very profitable crop (used to make food, oil, clothes, rope, etc..) and will give our economy the boost it needs.

Posted by majorjohnson on July 5, 2008 at noon (Suggest removal)

No sense in arguing with prohibitionists. Look at the ridiculous arguments they come up with to justify it...next we'll want to make rape legal, murder legal, pedophilia legal, one puff of grass and next thing you know you're an axe murderer and it happens to 100% of people who ever try it, all drug users end up in the gutter. Prohibitionists "believe" like the global warming crowd "believes" and no amount of truth or proof will change their delusion. When it comes to prohibition it's like telling an alcoholic he's making a bad choice, he just reaches for another bottle to deaden the reality so he doesn't have to face the truth.

And I also noticed that these dopes think that everyone who wants to end this prohibition is a liberal. I'm probably far more conservative than these so called "conservatives." They're conservative like Joe McCarthy was...stupid irrational conservative.

Posted by BPFROM843 on July 5, 2008 at 2:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

these guys are goin to do life over 20 dollars how petty why would they front a homeless guy drugs anyway(no disrespect for the dead)they deserve to get life

Posted by metallic on July 5, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)

"majorjohnson" posted:

>>>No sense in arguing with prohibitionists. Look at the ridiculous arguments they come up with to justify it...next we'll want to make rape legal, murder legal, pedophilia legal, one puff of grass and next thing you know you're an axe murderer and it happens to 100% of people who ever try it, all drug users end up in the gutter. Prohibitionists "believe" like the global warming crowd "believes" and no amount of truth or proof will change their delusion. When it comes to prohibition it's like telling an alcoholic he's making a bad choice, he just reaches for another bottle to deaden the reality so he doesn't have to face the truth.<<<

Very well stated.

And I'll add, the prohibitionists do not understand (and probably don't WANT to understand) the concept of "individual rights."

Individual rights is all about "self ownership." Every person owns "him/herself" and has (or at least should have) the right to act in whatever manner he/she chooses so long as that action does not violate the rights of others.

Self-ownership even includes that right to take actions that are self-destructive.

A drug addict, injecting heroin, in the privacy of his home, is not violating any other person's rights, but nearly all with even a basic understanding of the bio-chemistry involved with that drug, would agree that the addict is harming himself. He has the right to engage in his self-destructive behavior, because it is not violating anyone else's rights.

Actions such as (the previously suggested) rape of children, violates the child's rights.

The fact that some people cannot see the difference between action like drug abuse, which is self-destructive, and actions like child-rape, which harms another human being, is actually quite disturbing.

But then, seeing beings which have the capability of thinking rationally, choosing irrationality instead, SHOULD be disturbing. Drug abusers are disturbing; prohibitionists are also disturbing -- and both for the same reasons: Their irrationality.

Posted by iceman1978 on July 5, 2008 at 2:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I've been to Holland and have lived in Europe before so I know a few things about drug legalization. It's not what most people think it is. It's not that the crime in Europe is lower (although in most countries it probably is) it's that much of what happens goes unreported and is left off the statistics. I don't support the full legalization of drugs, but at the same time I don't think that what we're doing right now is working. You can't always look to Europe and believe that because something works there that it will automatically work here. There are too many variables to consider when looking at the differing rates of crime and how it's addressed.

In principle I would say that I believe all drugs should be legalized because I believe that if someone wants to be foolish and kill themselves they have a right to do it. It's the same way that I feel about seat belts. People know the stats, they know they save lives when you wear one, and if an adult chooses to do something stupid then why should we waste the time of law enforcement on it? I realize though that most people wouldn't go for that so I don't think it would be doable.

What I would suggest is that we legalize marijuana and regulate it in the same ways that we regulate the sale of hard liquor. Place a sales tax on it like we do cigarettes and use the tax money to go into rehab programs. It bothers me to think about how many are sitting behind bars simply for posession of marijuana when you have violent offenders who get back out onto the streets. (Remember the recent story about the fellow who raped those women?)

Hard drugs should not be legal. If someone has only a small amount in their possesion then it needs to be addressed first as a health issue. Put them into rehab rather than jail. If rehab doesn't work and they go right back into their old ways, then you put them in prison. If someone is arrested with a large amount of hard drugs, they go to jail, simple as that.

The biggest obstacle that we face however, is that we have an unsecured border in which millions of kilos of drugs are smuggled into the US each year. Trying to solve the drug problem under these conditions is like trying to keep a bathtub full of water while the drain at the bottom gets bigger and bigger.

Posted by mershadonn on July 5, 2008 at 4 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I've never seen a person who was completely sober (no drugs or alcohol) living under an overpass. There is a very clear connection between drug and alcohol use and poverty.
I know, I know, there are people who use drugs and alcohol that don't end up in poverty, but nobody who stays sober ends up this way.

///////////
WRONG you dont know what you are talking about . This market and times are breaking good peoples backs and if YOU do not see it well , I cannot help you. In this forclosure market you will see many good people that are REALLY CLEAN AND SOBER that are homeless including me,still looking for work::
Drug free over 20 years
Sober 7 years .
I am so glad I have a friend that is letting me stay till I find good work . unfortunatly that underpass lifestyle is a little too close for comfort , especially now , and it terrifies me

I am sorry for the loss of this man . it is a crying shame that people have to be in a position of nowhere else to go except under a bridge.
I know now what it is like to ask for help from the Dorchester county of services and get turned down , sorry no money , too sad too bad .

So insted of focusing on what drugs were involved, lets find out who beat this man to death as a thrill sport for some drug dealer. REMEMBER this killer is still walking around the Charleston area, thinking : its just some under the bridge guy I killed , next stop who knows ?

If this had been some WHITE boy from Isle of Palms, or the Citidel, it would have been a huge all out war manhunt until this person that commited this murder was found , aparently these men feel that there was no place to go for help besides under a bridge to live, and no way to get help to get straight and be good members of society .
...........................
re read this about this mans injuries :

About 7 a.m. on April 4, Sadaris was found badly beaten under a tree in a field off Bennett Yard Road.

"Banks had a broken jaw, skull fractures and his teeth were broken off and lodged in his throat," an affidavit said. He was unconscious but alive.

Ira said Sadaris owed his assailants drug money.

"They left him to die like a dog," Ira said. "I feel bad that I wasn't with him that night to protect him. That was my baby brother."
..........................................
he could have been shot for drug monies
but insted he was beaten badly

who did this?

why are the police not looking for this murderer ?

Posted by coolfreaknbeans on July 5, 2008 at 4:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ICEMAN1978-I agree with part of your post for sure.I'd much rather have a casual pot smoker live in my neighborhood than an fn pedophile!They lock up casual pot smokers for years and release rapists and pedophiles b/c our jails are overcrowded.This does not make sense.We need to change as a society.Medical use marijuana needs to be legalized at once.How crazy is it that methadone's perfectly fine to prescribe along with many of other pain/psych drugs that cause people to commit suicide or murder someone b/c theyre fd up on prescription drugs.

Posted by karmann on July 5, 2008 at 5:28 p.m. (Suggest removal)

A first or second time user of drugs may see it as a kick. I have asked current addicts if they ever saw themselves as becoming addicts when they first used. Of the ones I talked to, only two have stated they thought they might could. It may have started out as choice, but there is a very real physical, emotional, and psychological addiction that takes place. I don't say these guys are blameless, but folks do get caught up in circumstances that are overwhelming and see substances as a way out, and to some degree it works in the short term. I am thankful for groups like AA/NA that are excellent supports for addicts. I would not want to trade shoes w/ anyone in that situation. They deserve our expectations to make changes, but they also deserve pity and assistance in getting clean and sober.

Posted by mrmachi on July 5, 2008 at 6:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)

mershadonn, "this market" has nothing to do with finding jobs. The market is fine. And please "foreclosure market"? Now you are the one that doesnt know what you are talking about. Stop giving excuses for the whiners. And I know your story and it hardly has anything to do with the market either. You of all people should be calling for these people to be more responsible. Again, its choices, these guys made bad ones. His death is terrible but his lifestyle was his choice.

Posted by MRSCVS on July 5, 2008 at 7:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Such a depressing story about the choices we make in life.

There is a multitude of debates on this topic.

I don’t think legalizing drugs would have made any disparity in this man’s life.

He chooses to live the way he did, and as a result it cost him his life.

I do offer my commiseration to the surviving brother, and pray that you change your ways as well.

God Bless

Posted by jarjh4 on July 5, 2008 at 8:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

These people had real lives before they ended up here. Ira has a wife and two beautiful children. It is sad to see he and his brother live this life. I sure hope and pray he can pull through this and return to a productive life.
God bless Ira and his family

Posted by eatmorecollards on July 5, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It doesn't matter if drugs were legal or not, there isn't many people that can hold a job under the influence of alcohol or drugs all day.

Posted by farfallaspeaks on July 5, 2008 at 10:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

RW, wow, you described me perfectly. I don't choose any party, but I guess I'm a LEFT alright.
I DO care about racism
I DON'T believe in the death penalty.
I DO hate religious extremists who revolve their life around God
I DO want health care for all. (Stop eating McDonalds, and it may be possible!)
I DO think all our countries problems are Bush's fault, whom we can also blame for all those thrown into Cuba prisons for years without trial and then released innocent.

Thanks for stating my point so well~!

Posted by blah_blah_blah on July 5, 2008 at 11:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I pray for these two men, and that God's will will be done. I am too late for one, but hope that one day, people in this position will have the opportunities to get them a better life.

Posted by mershadonn on July 6, 2008 at 2:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)

ok what if it was anyone who was not Homeless insted of an under the bridge guy ? betcha the police would be looking for this murderer real hard ..

but it wasnt so they are not and that is that,
so this Nice Drug Dealer /MURDERER is still walking and cruising around Charleston metro area ...

Posted by hartley8184 on July 6, 2008 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)

This country is doomed.

Posted by hartley8184 on July 6, 2008 at 10:22 a.m. (Suggest removal)

farfellaspeaks says:
"RW, wow, you described me perfectly. I don't choose any party, but I guess I'm a LEFT alright. I DO care about racism I DON'T believe in the death penalty. I DO hate religious extremists who revolve their life around God"

He cares about racism, but he hates people who are religious. This is the new paradigm in this country. It's no longer cool to be racist, so you find a substitute. Why do Americans always need someone to be against?

Posted by willbillbedamned on July 6, 2008 at 12:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Posted by eatmorecollards on July 5, 2008 at 9:41 p.m. (Suggest removal)

It doesn't matter if drugs were legal or not, there isn't many people that can hold a job under the influence of alcohol or drugs all day.

Well count me among the people who can, I'm 58 years old, retired from BellSouth. Many,many days of those 30 yrs. were spent smoking reefer, including on the job.I came to your houses, listened to your problems, roamed your homes and fixed your phones, all while being high. I retired with the highest possible performance rating. I also spent 4 years in the U.S.A.F working Security for S.A.C. You wouldn't even want to know how many of us were walking around armed, stoned and protecting nuclear weapons.I left the Air Force having reached the highest rank possible within 4 years. Funny how the word "highest" keeps popping up.

Posted by Cid95 on July 6, 2008 at 12:04 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Alcohol is a legal drug that most people can manage to use and live normal lives. Not all though, and we live with the consequences. Same with nicotine and caffeine.

It seems to me from observation that marijuana falls into that category too. I know several dozen people that use it at least sometimes and live normal, productive and otherwise law-abiding lives.

Crack, cocaine, heroin, and other "hard" drugs seem to cause problems most of the time. I don't know anyone that uses them, probably because most people I know are normal and productive citizens.

The death penalty for drugs wouldn't end the drug problem. China has had if for decades, as has Singapore and Malaysia. And they still have lots of executions. People will always take the risk.

Build more prisons. Some people fail in life and need to be taken out of circulation.

Posted by walleyedwoman1215 on July 6, 2008 at 3:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Mershadonn, I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. I urge you to call Trident United Way in Summerville on South Main Street. Ask for a referral to Help of Summerville, which provides emergency funds (for prescriptions, utilities, etc.) to people in your circumstances. Also call Palmetto House homeless shelter and Goodwill Industries, both in Summerville, for food, clothing, employment counseling and referrals for emergency housing. Finally, St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Summerville has a free MOM (Medical Outreach Ministries)clinic monthly that provides basic medical care and in some cases free prescriptions. Call 873-1991.
Good luck. Times are tight, but help is still out there.

Posted by tbissainthe on July 7, 2008 at 8:33 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Regardless of the choices he made in life, he was somebody's brother, son, friend...somebody loved him. No one deserves to die like that. My heart and prayers go out to his family and friends.

Posted by FiscalConservative on July 7, 2008 at 9:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)

All you people who do not think drugs are legal are wrong.

There is still cocaine around in some hospitals. Cocaine hydrochloride topical. It is not used due to its inferiority. Desoxyn® (methamphetamine hydrochloride) is the prescription version of methamphetamine. You can get it for ADHD. Heroin is not but has many derivatives. Medical marijuana.

There are just not widely available as you would like them to be. So you guys have won. Good for you. Quit whining.

Posted by autis on July 12, 2008 at 11:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

the war on drugs i dont think is working.if you bought your dope from the goverment. for 20 dollars maybe half could go to treatment instead of a crimminal on the street coner.maybe the billions we spend on the war on drugs could do some good like maybe education. we have alot of dumb asses in goverment and on the street .