Drugs!

I have always thought that the United States had a seriously wacky drug policy. I understand the need to outlaw some drugs that really endanger people, but even as a extremely anti-drug person, I see no real need for laws surrounding soft-drugs such as cannabis. In the US we waste so much time working to win the war on drugs that we don't even understand what we are doing to the country as a whole. We over fill our jails, and make all sorts of drugs, including prescriptions, seem like a bad thing, when aren't necessarily.
I think that the US should take on a policy more the The Netherlands. They believe that since they can't logically put a ban on smoking pot and have everyone abide by it, they instead just regulate it. Although cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, the government has issued a non-enforcement policy for soft drugs called "gedoogbeleid". Under gedoogbeleid, it is said that anyone who is carry under 5 grams of cannabis or who is growing less than 5 cannabis plants should not be prosecuted. I think this is an excellent idea! If the US implemented this sort of drug policy then we would have more room in our jails for people who actually committed a crime that hurt someone.
The Netherlands also invests lots of money into drug prevention and also drug rehabilitation. The government is about to support about 90% of people who are looking to be rehabilitated, a population that is rapidly increasing through the years
Although soft drugs such as marijuana are often tolerated in small amounts. There is absolutely no tolerance for hard drugs. Importing and exporting can get one about 14-16 years in jail.