Expecting legalization to fix drug-related social issues was never realistic. What it does fix is mass incarceration of people who are ill. So you need to comp

Expecting legalization to fix drug-related social issues was never realistic. What it does fix is mass incarceration of people who are ill. So you need to compare the effects of legalization with the effects of criminalization. First order effects might seem bad: more drug users in public, more crime. But you also don’t see the drug users who weren’t imprisoned and were able to get help and turn their lives around. What Oregon tells me is that deinstitutionalization doesn’t work. You can’t just kick drug users to the streets and expect that to fix the problem. Sick people need help.