In the state in which I worked, possession of very small amounts of marijuana resulted in a simple ticket, if the officer even bothered. If I remember correctly, possession of any amount of cocaine or heroin was charged as a felony, but whether if was vigorously prosecuted as such was another matter. For a first offender or a rich guy, good luck. So I would continue to argue that simple possession and use aren't really penalized. (One thing to consider also is if you can't get a guy for what you really want him for, and he happened to have some drugs on him, you get him for that and that is what the stat will be.)
The users and addicts I saw didn't make any economic contribution to society and in my view never will no matter what. I only rarely saw the ones who were able to function more or less normally. That they were able to carry on without a fuss meant they would never come to our attention. I agree with you about these people being the majority of drug users. What that means is use of prohibited drugs really doesn't have anything to do with whether you are going to be a productive member of society. You are or you're not.
Also agree with you completely about "common sense" knowledge about drugs.
As noted already, the "drug war" takes away from other police work, the kind with victims who complain. Money always seemed to be available for drug stuff but was not so much for burglars.
Bookmarks