06-23-2017, 10:37 AM
(06-23-2017, 10:28 AM)michaelsean Wrote: It may not be gang related, but I have to believe drug related would shoot that number up a lot. I'm wholesale in the camp of end the war on drugs now. There are some caveats. If you want to spend all day with a needle in your arm, that's up to you, but we aren't paying your way. We will however, pay for rehab when you decide you've had enough.
I would agree with you were it not for the deep decline in violent crime in the 1990s. I have zero doubt that rethinking our strategy regarding drugs would impact violent crime rates, but I don't think the impact would be a drastic one.
Edit to add: I think criminal justice reform combined with rethinking our drug policy would help violent crime rates and should be attempted, but also need to look at other solutions. These two things would also impact some socioeconomic issues in our communities.
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
