>> And laws are effective deterents if the penalties are appropriately harsh. Except their not. There's vast bodies of research suggesting the war on drugs has

>> And laws are effective deterents if the penalties are appropriately harsh. Except their not. There's vast bodies of research suggesting the war on drugs has been largely ineffective and encouraged a massive amount of related crime. If your focus is on reduction criminalization is proven to be ineffective. The major point of the article is that to reduce drug use your most effective at reduce the societal problems that lead to drug use.