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Comment by tosseraccount | Hacker News Reader

The majority of the population has used drugs illegaly. You're saying "we aren't in control of ourselves" ? Most folks can handle a joint or an oxy or an underage brewski.

Abuse should be treated as a medical problem, not a criminal problem. We need to take the cops and lawyers and the prison industry out of fixing it.

Implementing the drug laws in practice targets the poor and minorities.

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People illegally selling hard drugs should go to jail. As for the rest of the War on Drugs' imprisonment policy, I'll agree that it's counterproductive and harmful.

I respectfully disagree. People who sell drugs are by and large non-violent offenders.

American prisons would have plenty more room to keep pedophiles in prison and off probation if the cells weren't packed wall to wall with non-violent drug offenders.

Like that FiveThirtyEight piece I linked to points out, releasing everyone that's in prison for primarily drug crimes will only reduce the prison population by 14%. The headline figures of 50% that you hear includes anyone that has any drug charge as part of their conviction, even if it's not the most serious charge.

14% is a staggering, massive number. full stop.

Not much of an argument IMO

14% is a sizable share, and, in any case, a large portion of those with drug and other charges, rather than just did charges, have all the charges stemming from drug-related activities or transactions, or otherwise connected to drug prohibition (similarly many with no drug charges, but only other charges); ending the war on drugs wouldn't just eliminate the imprisonment tied solely to dig charges.

But keep in mind that the black market around drugs, and the difficulty and expense of obtaining illegal drugs, creates violence.

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