It would help if 40% of the people rotting in our federal prisons weren't political prisoners, and there for non-violent drug offenses. We've spent countless billions of dollars incarcerating recreational drug users, with either zero or something very close to zero effect on illicit drug usage rates.In places that have highly concentrated social problems things are worse, and much worse at that, than they've ever been and getting worse. This is despite the fact that we pump hundreds of billions of dollars into our criminal justice system every year and incarcerate people more often and for longer periods of time. We are definitely not going in the right direction.
The Controlled Substances Act was our federal government's response to the late 1960's, and it was one of the most ridiculous overreaches of federal power in the history of our country. Nowhere in our Constitution is authority given for the feds to dictate to the states and American people what kind of food and drugs we're allowed to have. As a result of this unchecked power the families and careers of millions of Americans have been ruined for absolutely nothing except to satiate reactionary politics and create a permanent underclass of unemployable citizens. Catastrophe #489 from Mr. Nixon.