[ZeroGravitas]

Asking someone to turn out their pockets and then arresting them because some marijuana is now "publicly displayed" is as close to "no reason" as you're going to get.

Also, if the father is absent, maybe it's because he's in jail, like some scary number of people in the US? Maybe he can't get employment, because he's a felon, like a scary number of people in the US?

The person you replied to is right, ending the war on drugs makes a lot of things, including all the things you list, better. It's a great place to start.