The key insight I want to bring to this issue is that the drug trade is an indictment of our society’s aimlessness. People with secure relationships and prospects don’t tend to be tempted to try drugs. If we were a country with a vision that people felt animated by, then drugs would have less hold on our society.
We do need strong policing of drug crime and a real likelihood of getting caught for for those parts of the supply chain within this country and internationally. Prison needs to an experience people don’t want to repeat not out of bullying in prison but because the state runs a disciplined environment and a punitive but reforming one with suitable help to reintegrate into society.