These are all valid and important points to consider, but nowhere is a mention of the most direct and obvious effect of drug use: if 10% more people smoke weed because of decriminalization, that’s a lot in chemical-induced pleasure!
That assumes that decriminalization increases drug usage but it’s questionable that this is what happened. In Glenn Greenwalds Cato report which is a base for a lot of the this discussion he says: “Although postdecriminalization usage rates have remained roughly the same or even decreased slightly when compared with other EU states, drug‐related pathologies — such as sexually transmitted diseases and deaths due to drug usage — have decreased dramatically. ”
Changes in drug use is not a a direct effect of police action on drug users. The direct effect of police action on drug users is them spending time in prison.
Yes, you’re correct. As others have correctly noted, there is no unambiguous way of determining which effects are “direct” and which are not. However, suppose decriminalization does decrease drug use. My argument emphasizes that we would need to consider the reduction in time spent enjoying drugs as a downside to decriminalization (though I doubt this would outweigh the benefits associated with lower incarceration rates). It seems to me that this point would frequently be neglected.
That assumes that decriminalization increases drug usage but it’s questionable that this is what happened. In Glenn Greenwalds Cato report which is a base for a lot of the this discussion he says: “Although postdecriminalization usage rates have remained roughly the same or even decreased slightly when compared with other EU states, drug‐related pathologies — such as sexually transmitted diseases and deaths due to drug usage — have decreased dramatically. ”
Changes in drug use is not a a direct effect of police action on drug users. The direct effect of police action on drug users is them spending time in prison.
Yes, you’re correct. As others have correctly noted, there is no unambiguous way of determining which effects are “direct” and which are not. However, suppose decriminalization does decrease drug use. My argument emphasizes that we would need to consider the reduction in time spent enjoying drugs as a downside to decriminalization (though I doubt this would outweigh the benefits associated with lower incarceration rates). It seems to me that this point would frequently be neglected.