[HerrKaiser]

I would contend the war on drugs is the problem. The statutes enacted in pursuit of it have led to the erosion of due process rights, as now manifested beyond drugs in the red flag laws. It sounds incredibly counterintuitive, it has been a demonstrated success in lowering the overall crime rate with the legalization of pot in the states and districts who did, as well as freeing up police resources for doing things other than arresting/booking college kids for smoking and playing video games/bad music. Like enforcing penalties for NICs denials and straw purchasers.

Much of American gang violence (where we know that the vast majority of homicides by gun take place in the USA) is centered on the drug trade. By legalizing and regulating/taxing the everloving crap out of said drugs, we undercut much of the gang business overnight, and thereby quickly reduce the impetus for the resulting gang violence. As much as I hate to compare the US to Europe, the European models on tackling Drug epidemics and addicts have been far more successful than their US counterparts. Legalizing seems to remove the social “taboo” around it there, and rate of users dropped as it’s no longer a “forbidden fruit”.

The mental health is spot on, and an absolute train wreck in the USA. .