[jayar95]

I used to take a similar view on the war on drugs- now it's more nuanced given my immersion into the problem. It's hard to say wasting countless lives and millions of dollars to combat organizations illegaly smuggling harmless product (marijuana) into the states is hardly worth the mess left behind. Take a step back and it's easier to justify when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems such as the meth epidemic in california or the opioid crisis across the country. And to facilitate the delivery of these criminalized products, criminal organization have no hesitation of delivering those packs covered in the blood of poorest class of people in the hemisphere (the consumers are dying too, but from consumption, another problem entirely). Lots of people against the war on drugs will say "yeah but if it was decriminalized..." A lot of things would be different if it was decriminalized, but good luck selling that pipe dream to the traditional base of america that has a strong influence across the nation. Not happening anytime soon. In my opinion everything sucks here and I haven't heard a viable solution yet to this very complicated issue

Edit: I do want to say that decriminalization is probably the most hopeful option of them all, I just think it's going to take forever, generations probably. This is really a public health issue in my opinion, it's just not treated as one :/

[gerbilly]

> when the income of that product is going to large criminal organizations that also create problems

But that's just it, they wouldn't be criminal organizations if you didn't criminalize it in the first place.

To me, the war on drugs is a proxy for unpopular geopolitical actions or even domestic race wars that the US wants to fight.

[overkalix]

Maybe at some point in the past a decriminalization approach would have put a stop to the violence that is tied to illegal drugs. Maybe.

But that's not the case anymore. Cartels don't really deal in drugs, they deal in violence that rivalizes that of a state in terms of reach and often legitimacy. That's the source of their power, not the production/trade of drugs. If "soft" illegal drugs are legalized (and I think they should be) actors in the current trade will simply move their efforts to other sectors in which a violent actor can profit from combating state efforts: sex trafficking, racketeering, counterfeit products... politics...

I'm sure there will be a change but I agree with the previous poster -it will take generations.

[justwalt]

I believe he means organizations that are involved in other illegal or harmful activities sans the drug presence.

[jayar95]

Yeah, most organizations don't deal in _just_ weed. A lot of them deal in people too

[thatcat]

Decriminalization is not a pipe dream. It happened in 2018 in Ca.

[MikePemulis]

Post hog