Eli5 how decriminalization of drugs lowers rates
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It turns out that throwing drug users in jail is a really terrible way to make them not use drugs anymore. They meet lots of other drug users and dealers while they’re in there, and when they get out their criminal record makes it more difficult to escape the poverty conditions that frequently lead to drug use in the first place.
If you decriminalize drugs instead it’s a lot easier and safer for addicts to seek proper treatment for their addiction. They have better access to services that help them improve their lives to escape the conditions that foster drug use.
It’s important to understand the decriminalization assumes that a proper care network exists (or will develop in tandem). On its own it just frees up jail cells, but it provides the opportunity for proper treatment and care that will *actually* help with the problem.
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