“Drugs should be as close to fully legal as possible”

Excerpt from an interview with Joseph, a resident living near the Hall of Justice in San Jose, CA in summer 2021.

Interviewer: [ …] Do you think the state should spend more or less money on the courts?

Joseph: It's hard for me to say without knowing the intricacies of where exactly that money goes or what kind of cases are being, you know, prosecuted or whatever. I would say in general, my opinion on drugs have always been that I wish we prosecuted those kinds of cases far less. Um, it's sort of, like, sort of, radical and like, I don't--I don't know that I actually believe this...so...so...[sighs] I don't know that I actually would make it--to say what I'm about to say--without any conditions, but I think that drugs should be as close to fully legal as possible. And it's not because I think, oh, like everyone should just be doing drugs all the time. You know, it's just one of those things where it's like...I'm sure you've heard of these arguments, but it's like, there is an appetite for drug use, no matter what, it is what it is. Um, because of the way things are set up, like someone's going to--supply and demand--like, someone's going to fulfill that demand. You know, it's a really messy situation. It's just not--I just feel like the kind of, war on drugs that's, you know, it just hasn't...helped in any real, long lasting or fundamental way. I feel like there's probably so much money that's been spent that's just, kind of, not really accomplished anything. Probably so many people in jail that like, you know, it's just a very messed up situation, I'm sure. Yeah. So, it's one of those things I don't want to like--I haven't studied it really, like I haven't really. I'm just kind of like some guy who's thinking about it. Yeah, from-from what I know about it and from what I can sort of, you know, think about. Yeah, basically, in my opinion, I think that there are probably a lot less money that could be spent on it.