The study shows the outcomes that are influenced by a large number of variables. It's easy to condense it to rich/poor, but you are simply saying that wealth ho

The study shows the outcomes that are influenced by a large number of variables. It's easy to condense it to rich/poor, but you are simply saying that wealth households, on average have a lot less of the multitude of factors that contribute to bad outcomes. The analysis on the root causes and potential policy/social implications isn't really there in the article. Drugs, violence and parental education are all touched, but it's looked at in the prism of poor vs wealthy. That's basically to say, if a person is wealthy, that person can distance him/herself from societal evils. My personal view of this, is that we need to view drug use as an illness and treat it. Same that we would any other disease that is a threat to society. One could approach drugs like we do viruses - heroin is more akin to ebola in severity, as opposed to pot being more like the common cold (hardly worth the attention, except in kids). Don't have the time to quote exact studies, but anecdotally, I believe there is some evidence that decriminalizing drug use impacts violence quite a bit. From there, you can also use the resources otherwise tied up in the war on drugs to address violent crimes and hopefully develop a rehabilitation program, instead of piling more people in jail. That said, I definitely think that the punishment should fit the crime. In no way should a person who deprived another person of life be allowed to walk free after only a few years... Regardless of excuses or extanuating circumstances.