Given the sheer number of people in jail due to drug possession, including a drug that is now legal in CA, it's clear a good number of those people shouldn't be in jail in the first place.

BTW, I'm not talking legally, I'm talking morally, they should have never gone to jail or prison in the first place for mere possession.

The biggest crime is if they come back into society without the ability to add to the workforce (due to their being former prisoners) or resources to exercise their entrepreneurship (ie, no connections or learning).

Then they are targets for recidivism and society loses out. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine with less prisons.

The biggest problem then is the stigma of having a criminal record for future job interviews' background checks. Ordinary possession shouldn't leave a lasting black mark on one's record or there will definitely be recidivism barring any cultural change in attitude towards hiring ex-criminals.

Not sure why you're being down voted. For the vast majority of jobs, recreational drug use is commonplace already.

I'm not sure the solution is to ensure that the minority that get caught are unable to ever go back to being productive, effectively being forced into finding alternative means to pay their rent/bills/etc.