[_uy6i]

I think the this actually the best argument for some form of legalization, but given the amount of crime committed by drug users/abusers (not including drug trade related crime) the number in the US is comparable.

If people who use/abuse drugs only say on their couch and ate Doritos fine. But they cause (fatal) car crashes, violently rob and assault people, abuse their spouses and children, and commit homicide.

If ~1/3rd of offenses are committed under the influence that implies ~5k murders a year or ~78k since 2006 (admittedly I have no idea how many of those murders would have happened if the person was sober, but it’s worth noting the magnitude)

https://bjs.ojp.gov/drugs-and-crime-facts/drug-use-and-crime

[rendall]

Not sure. I think sticking to the inalienable principle that people can do what they want with their own bodies would resolve a lot of this. It's hard to say what proportion of violence stems directly from the fact that drugs are illegal versus just being high. If resources now directed to prosecuting drug traffickers and users could instead be redirected from law enforcement to treatment, counseling, education I suspect this would resolve. As far as I know, every locality that decriminalized experienced a drop in drug-related violent crime.