@gakINGKONG Said
To what degree?
Abolish the ATF?
What about any or all controlled substances? Medicines that require a prescription?
What about big pharma and predatory drug companies?
What about the opioid addiction crisis?
Sometimes decriminalizing a thing won't alleviate the burden society bears.
Since the war on drugs began 50 years ago, incarcerations have gone up 500%, from 500,000 to 2,500,000, even though the U.S. population has only grown 50%. Blacks have been disproportionately the target, accounting for 55% of convictions and 70% of prison sentences even though they only make up 13% of the US population. 55% of black children in America live under single parent families as a result, compared to 25% of white children and 30% overall, and the median household income is $30,000 for blacks, compared to the national average of $60,000, perpetuating the cycle of crime (recidivism is at 67%), as well as creating a huge tax burden on Americans, not only in having to provide support for those families, either directly or indirectly, but in having to pay for the cost of incarceration itself, which is $30,000 per prisoner per year.
And is it working? Illicit drug use has remained steady in terms of percentage of users and in terms of inflation adjusted expenditure since data has been collected on this. Crime has risen, incarceration has risen, taxpayer cost has risen, and people are still gaining access to drugs and using just as much as ever before.
So maybe it isn’t working.
Shifting from incarceration to forced rehabilitation has proven to be much less costly and much more effective in places where it has been tried.
Legalization would of course remove the violent crime and force dealers to find ways to make legitimate ways to make a living and support their families for a change.
Regulation and education would put limits where needed, such as what we see with drinking and smoking.
This includes the opioid crisis. Regulation can end the practice allowing medical doctors to prescribe them beyond acute cases of pain, which has been the leading cause of addiction.
Just a few ideas, but there are many more...