Are you aware of how much money it costs society to send someone to prison? A LOT more than a rehab program.

- You have direct cost of imprisonment ~$60k a year

- The costs of prosecution (no idea what this costs though)

- Once someone has been to prison they are much more likely to be involved in crime again, and become a repeat customer of the industrial prison complex

- We loose a tax payer

- The perp will have no retirement fund, thus the government is on the hook again during retirement years.

- Increased insurance costs for everyone else due to a higher crime rate

I don't have the time or resources to do an accurate cost estimation but we could do some basic napkin math. Lets say 10 years in prison during their lifetime and a loss of $15k tax per year over a 30 year period (due to time spent in prison and loss of earning potential once they're out).

(10 * $60k) + (30 * $15k) = $1,050,000 loss to the State. That's a shit load of money. Crime prevention looks a lot cheaper now doesn't it?

Many people, unfortunately, want blood and 'justice', not helping hands and forgiveness for thieves. Perhaps if we highlight just how much 'torture' addicts feel as they go off drugs in a rehab hardliners might be convinced to support drub rehab as a fully funded public policy.

You haven't shown that (successful) rehab costs less.

Two things:

1. That's a non-sequitur. Drug rehab programs that are part of prison diversion schemes are implicitly a matter of public policy. A single individual writing a single check is meaningless in that context.

2. "Saint or GTFO" is a debate tactic used by the foolish who think their opponent is a bigger fool.

"Saint or GTFO"

As an aside, I have not heard that type of argument paraphrased this way, but it is terribly amusing.

Or we could curb the landlords and build some decent real public housing for a lot of people that is not the prison system. Have you considered "hacking" the problem of these landowners who charge too much?

You're assuming that drug rehab programs are a net cost to society.

Why take 50% of the money used to lock people away in a metal cage and fund the best drug rehab program every conceived by man.

I dont think you have any idea how much money is in the prison system today

Ha! I would support any tax that pays for real drug rehabs...much cheaper than prison and better chance to fix the real problem.

Unfortunately, knowing our luck it will barely be more than an AA/NA meeting, perhaps with random UA testing, that some contractor charges the government Passages Malibu rates for...

This is unfortunately true. Indeed I think it has to include imprisonment during detox and skill training periods (min 1 year)