I think we definitely need a new approach to dealing with drugs and addiction. We spend a ridiculous amount on incarceration, per inmate. Federally it's above

I think we definitely need a new approach to dealing with drugs and addiction. We spend a ridiculous amount on incarceration, per inmate. Federally it's above $37k per year as of 2018 [1], and states averaged over $33k in 2015 [2]. That's excluding the cost of policing the drug war, lost taxation on illicit goods, state-funded medical and wage impact of addiction, or the lost consumer impact to the economy of those incarcerated or under addiction. Ultimately drug addiction is a health and social issue. Treating it as a criminal issue has not significantly helped the problem. We can hamper black markets through legalization and regulation while reducing significant costs across a wide array of categories. But I don't think we should simply legalize and be done with it, as that'd be dangerous. We need to shift the money we're already ineffectually spending. Put it into research, therapy, and the infrastructure surrounding regulation. Maybe mandated counseling to the addicted, once supply is more effectively monitored and controlled. We need to focus on positive outcomes for individuals. Incarceration generally only pushes people into a spiral of continued negative outcomes. [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/19/2019-24942/annual-determination-of-average-cost-of-incarceration-fee-coif https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/11/19/2019-24... [2] https://www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends/price-of-prisons-2015-state-spending-trends-prison-spending https://www.vera.org/publications/price-of-prisons-2015-stat...