> equipped to contend with increasingly military-like police forces The real reason drug dealers tool-up isn't to deal with cops; it's to deal with robbers. De

> equipped to contend with increasingly military-like police forces The real reason drug dealers tool-up isn't to deal with cops; it's to deal with robbers. Dealers hold stock and cash, and if those are stolen, there's not much the dealer can do - he certainly can't report the robbery to the police. So as a few people have noted above, decriminalisation would result in a significant reduction in both violence and firearms offences.