I haven't been around on this part lately but this caught my eye. I will speak only from my experiences.
1) All drugs lead to crime. I don't care if you are talking meth, crack, pot, whatever. I can't tell you how many people we arrest for shoplifting/theft who say they were simply trying to fund their drug of choice.
2) Legalizing it won't reduce these offenses. We currently have a guy breaking into sheds and houses to feed his crack addiction. Why is he stealing? Because he can't hold a job due to his addiction which means no money for his crack so he has to fund it some how.
3) I have dealt with people on every kind of drug you can think of, yes, even pot, who have assaulted others
4) I've fought with a guy who was strung out on pot laced with PCP. At 4:00 in the morning he decided that he didn't like the glass in someone's front door so he broke it out. After I finally got him on the ground he began doing push-ups with me (over #200 at the time) and another officer on his back. It took seven people to get him under control and handcuffed. The guy might have weighed in at #145. He was a clear danger to everyone around him and himself.
5) The often overlooked issue with pot is that there is no way to have a consistent THC level. Some will be sky high (pun intended) while others will be almost non-existent. If it could be leveled out there might be a chance it would be legalized.
6) Pills are VERY tightly regulated and right now that's the biggest problem in most areas, RX abuse.
7) In our area most drug offenders (probably 99%) are not sentenced to jail or prison unless they are hauling or dealing large levels. We can't even arrest for possession of pot unless it is over 100g, which BTW is a lot of pot. I can arrest for the pipe but not the pot
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8) Cigarettes and alcohol are legal but people are still stealing to get those things too. For some people, if they don't have the money for something then they will steal to get it. I don't see that changing even if drugs were legalized.
I have seen drugs, as well as alcohol, destroy people and their families. In my experience, I don't see that changing if drugs were legalized. Things might get better at first but then it would slide down again. I think, as Lali pointed out, a restructuring of the laws might be in order but each state must make decisions for themselves.
freddy