I don't do illegal drugs

Nor do I have very many prescription drugs and none that would be the kind anyone including myself would be likely to abuse, because they aren't even close to being the kind that could get you high or low.

So that is my disclaimer. Now for my rant.

Drug laws in this country are completely insane. We have a system where someone can get more time for committing the non violent crime of drug possession than they get for non-violent crime and assets are seized which does not happen with most if any other kinds of crime. Putting people in jail for drug use does nothing good for the person going to jail which hey if you like to punish people and get no change in behavior I guess that's good news for you. But, if you think that when someone does something that is either bad for them or bad for society that we need laws or at least a system to make them not do that anymore then jail is the worst possible choice to get an individual to quit drugs. When a persons life is ruined because they did something that is illegal many people think that it's acceptable.
In some cases I really don't care if a criminal has a difficult life because of doing something illegal, I have no pity for most sex offenders, no pity for the perps of domestic violence, or wall street thug oh wait they don't go to jail never mind.

But, here is the bigger problem. Drug offenders have families. Some of them are the head of the family even. Some are the only parent a child has. Most have very little in the area of a support system. And I might be wrong about this, but most drug abusers were abused as children. So, we have this recipe.

Take 1 child add abuse
Let the child fall through the cracks of the system
Blame vigorously for any problems they have as an adult
Mock them when they talk about their trouble childhood
Tell them it's their fault
Put them in prison for drug possession
Steal any assets they may have been able to earn
Throw them on the street with nothing and no job prospects after they serve time
Then blame them when they can't get their life back together
When their children grow up and have the same problems rinse and repeat

We have the resources to end child abuse. We have the resources to deal with drug abusers without jail sentences and we can end homelessness. But, these things will not happen in a culture where the victim is always blamed. Some people have sympathy and some have empathy. But, in the end it all comes down to each person is responsible for their behavior. It doesn't matter what drove them to it or what demons they are fighting. If they do something wrong because they are medicating the pain of being abused they must be punished and ruined for life if possible. It's the American way.