If you as the ruling class admit that society is imperfect, and you can no longer blame the people you are locking up for spoiling it, then you have to admit that the people REALLY responsible are probably you yourselves.
And that cannot be true, 'cos then you'd have to lock up yourself.

I agree completely.

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” - Anon

Imagine if we were smart enough to apply this ancient proverb to modern social, Covid, and environmental issues?

Sadly TRUE.

The white power structure specifically enacted the criminalization of cannabis in order to incarcerate non-whites and to rob them of the ability to vote thereafter. That cannabis continued to remain illegal, decade after decade, shows how deeply entrenched this bigotry was. Plus, police enforced the laws in hugely discriminatory ways, charging and imprisoning non-whites out of all proportion to usage (Whites were rarely stopped, arrested, charged or imprisoned for cannabis). They repeated the pattern with crack cocaine.

The truth shall set you free.

Glenn...my opinion is that far too many of us are lazy thinkers. OF COURSE we want to solve social problems...we just don't know how to do it, we don't want to admit any guilt and we certainly don't want to pay for whatever it costs.