Trite proclamations have muddied the American political debate over marijuana. With the basic, black-and-white view of drugs, political discourse has remained unproductive from Nixon's War on Drugs to Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" campaign. As a result, marijuana has long been regarded as a harmful taboo substance, leading to its widespread prohibition. The simple possession of the substance has resulted in the arrest of millions of people in the United States, disproportionately black and brown people.
However, research that goes beyond platitudes suggests that marijuana addiction, like other drug addictions, should be viewed as a sign of a wider context that includes individual traumas, anxiety, and economic distress. As a result, confining persons with major addictions is a retrograde solution, as it only creates a positive feedback loop for the problem. A man who has developed a marijuana addiction as a result of his trauma should not be imprisoned, where his trauma would be exacerbated.
Instead, the US should emulate Norway's jail system, which actively invests in rehabilitation and provides pleasant surroundings for inmates. Statistics suggest that this methodology reduces the risk of crime and that once inmates are released, they are unlikely to return. Generations will gain from the more compassionate and reasonable policy if the United States decriminalizes marijuana and instead invests in rehabilitation.
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