Decriminalization isn't a panacea (no pun intended.) If there's no integrated treatment, social services, and medical system to support this, then it's doomed t

Decriminalization isn't a panacea (no pun intended.) If there's no integrated treatment, social services, and medical system to support this, then it's doomed to fail. OTOH, militarized and racist Nixonian prohibition also doesn't serve a public good. One easy change: the US schedule of substances should go away because it levies unfair and unequal punishment on users. Psychoactive substances don't need the regulations, controls, or expense of monitoring highly enriched uranium: it's spending money and effort on the wrong parts of the public health situation. There is already a template for dealing with other substances, i.e., alcohol and tobacco. Focusing on healthcare and mental healthcare for all, with substance treatment being part of it, would lead to better outcomes and probably reduce the costs of policing.