I don’t even know how to process this. It is clear that hard drug use does not happen in some isolated vacuum that doesn’t impact society around it. The despai

I don’t even know how to process this. It is clear that hard drug use does not happen in some isolated vacuum that doesn’t impact society around it. The despair, poverty, mental health, disease, violence and more that accompanies drug use is obvious and in many places out of control. We can pretend there is some nobility to allowing this but people do not want to live in an open air drug den are moving away, voting against it, or shutting down their business (see: Starbucks recent closures) The plight of drug addicts has become a convenient hammer with which to beat political opponents and gain retweets. “Look how empathetic I am, offering these victims a safe space to use. I am not throwing them in prison, for I am benevolent.” The reality of this is now coming back to bite these people because as it turns out, the rest of society doesn’t want to live among the chaos that comes with hard drugs. We can continue to play pretend but civilians in these cities and open air drug neighborhoods aren’t interested anymore.