[Wawl]

I found this paper about drug policy change in Switzerland [1] very interesting.

The country was pushed toward evidence-based policies by a very large and visible drug scene, which had serious health consequences.

Some states started trying different approaches and fueled federal debates (The US system is similar to the swiss one). They did it even as far-right parties like SVP showed increased support, which caused almost schizophrenic results. For instance in 2008 "a resounding 68 percent of the population voted in favor of the new narcotics law based on four pillars, which included heroin-assisted therapy, while in the same referendum, only 33 percent endorsed decriminalization of cannabis"

[1] http://www.countthecosts.org/resource-library/mountaintops-w...