Thanks Crash and BF. I think we need to remember that back in the late 1800s cocaine was sold in sodas (Coke and Pepsi anyone?). People have always done drugs, but people have never been FORCED to take them. If someone poured out several pounds of the purest, best cocaine in the universe on to my dining room table and told me to take as much as I wanted, I wouldn't take any because it doesn't interest me.

To get back to the original topic of mass incarceration, let's look at the question in a different way. Let's say there was MORE mass incarceration and it was done properly (only the guilty are convicted and the penalty matches the crime). What would this mean? More criminal off the street. It seems that the communities suffering the most from crime would also BENEFIT the most from mass incarceration. Wouldn't the law-abiding be better off without criminals preying on them? Especially those who struggle to make ends meet who can't afford to have their cars stolen or homes burglarized. If schools ejected bullies, wouldn't that make schools safer, and wouldn't that make the kids who attend them safer? If more criminal were in prison, then businesses wouldn't be afraid to open up in poorer communities and more jobs would be created. I think we all need to re-examine our beliefs on this.

We need "get-tough" on crime policies, but they have to be fair and accurate. They also have to be moral and require community support. Schools have to suspend and expel bullies and thugs. Schools have to be safe. More cops need to work in bad neighborhoods, and local communities need their own armed and deputized citizen patrols. I don't agree with the Nation of Islam, but if the Nation of Islam started patrolling Chicago with legal carry permits I bet Chicago would be much safer. If churches and good citizens did the same, even better. The feds and/or states also need to audit local high-crime government to see if city and county leaders aren't stealing government money meant to help citizens ends up in their pockets. Several Detroit leaders stole thousands meant for poor schools that needed the money. A city can't thrive if it's run by crooks. At the same time, citizens shouldn't knowingly vote in crooks, like they did in Washington DC (Marion Berry). I would also support decriminalizing all drugs for home use (not at work, not in school and not while driving). Police need to focus on violent crimes and property crimes, not usage "crimes."