Beyond ignoring the side effects of prohibition and all the crime it creates one thing about the article I found eyebrow-raising was the dismissive tone they to

Beyond ignoring the side effects of prohibition and all the crime it creates one thing about the article I found eyebrow-raising was the dismissive tone they took towards ending the drug war. It's only 20% of the incarcerated population. Ending it would ONLY save the lives of millions of innocent Americans. It's definitely not the whole story, not even the majority, but 20% is ENORMOUSLY significant. And the most crucial thing is that it's a no-brainer. It's easy. It is the first of many steps, but it's the first and that's important in a way I think the article misses. If we can't convince the electorate to stop brutalizing innocent people who prefer safer and healthier alternatives to alcohol in the privacy of their own home, for example, how will we ever get to the point where we can consider releasing a serial drunk driver before 20 years of being beaten and raped and humiliated? The biggest change the drug war has made is to the law enforcement apparatus. It has given law enforcement unlimited power because it has turned everyone into a criminal: drugs are ubiquitous, especially in poorer communities, and proving that someone possesses something is MUCH easier than proving someone has done something in court. When everyone's a criminal and it's easy to prosecute all of a sudden you get enormous power concentrated in the hands of LEOs and prosecutors, it's all about who they choose to exact punishment upon. Prosecutors will get lazy and instead of going after someone for a real crime, use the drugs to force them into a plea and call it a day. It's quick, cost effective, and serves some sense of justice -- you get the person you've decided is the "bad guy". Getting rid of the war on drugs would stop this, so prosecutors would have to drop cases or prosecute real crimes, which I'd imagine would lead simultaneously to more prosecutions of those problem crimes with huge sentences mentioned in the article and fewer convictions. It's another factor.