But crimes committed by drug users and dealers are in part a consequence of criminalization. There is also a relatively small share of the population that is inclined to use "hard" drugs and the evidence appears to be that those who are inclined pay no attention to drug laws. And the fact that drugs are illegal, possession punishable by jail time, makes treatment more difficult and less likely. So whether the Drug War actually does any good, reduces addiction or the problems associated with drug use, is not a given. What is known is criminalization is an invitation for crime, turf battles, drug related violence, it greatly increases the prison population and all the costs associated with housing them, felony convictions, etc.
Portugal's experiment with drug legalization has been a success. Drug use actually went DOWN, not up. Treatment went up, easily funded by drops in the incarceration rate.
Decriminalizing Drugs in Portugal a Success, Says Report - TIME
There are problems with assuming Portugal's approach would work in the U.S. but the bigger point is we assume criminalization somehow "works" to reduce the problems of drugs and there is simply a lot of evidence that our approach on balance at least MAY cause more problems than it actually solves.
