Comment by slothtrop

Derailing: Leaving aside that these drug laws are draconian, strict punishment does appear to have an impact on crime when observing 1st world countries. Japanese poverty rate for example is reportedly 16% and the last official rate in the U.S. was 10.5%, but has one of the lowest murder rates in the world. People like to chalk this up to mere "culture", which is absurd. Culture changes, and is itself informed by various factors which can include the law. The rehabilitation proponents skeptical of punishment tend to focus on recidivism only. The only question to ask is whether the severity of punishment is warranted.