This rhetoric has only increased the suffering in the world and filled cities with an underclass of vagrants too drugged out to tell you the day of the week. People shouldn't go to jail for weed, fine, fair enough. But all you see in cities that have decriminalized harder drugs are frozen in time drug zombies. It's a terrible policy every time it's implemented in the States, but people are more concerned with the feel-good vibes of the policy.

> because the whole point behind decriminalization is that criminalizing homelessness and drug addiction does not have a net positive outcome for them or society.

This is one theory, and it's a theory that's hotly contested. Asserting it as a fact doesn't actually make it one, and we're currently watching several large scale experiments testing if decriminalization helps society. Early results are not promising.

Look, obviously there have been and continue to be all sorts of problems with the US justice system for various reasons.

But that doesn't mean it's not needed, because it is. Violent drug addicts are locked up in other countries too, and if you spend time hanging around in public high on meth then at the very least police are going to tell you off.

People who are in prison are not out committing more crimes.

We do need to reduce the prison population, but by the time someone has reached the point of heavy drug use and street violence the odds of rehabilitation are very low. No other country has a good record of rehabilitating those people. So, the only reasonable way to reduce the problem is further upstream with better opportunities and support systems for youths.

Incredible victim blaming here

Where? Can you please quote the victim blaming?

All I see is a claim that harsher drug laws would not have helped this victim.

Also rudeness, but being rude is not victim blaming.

Edit: Pretty please someone explain? Am I missing some obvious implication?

From here it looks like people hate the grandparent comment so much that even incorrect criticism will get treated as true. Which is really bad for a discussion website. I hope I'm wrong about that, but I'm failing to find another way to read things.