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What most of us don’t think about, because it doesn’t effect us directly, is all the things that putting someone in jail for drugs does to that person, to that family, to the community they come from. It’s shattering.
They have a problem, they’re involved in drug abuse. So they’re hurting themselves, they’re self-medicating, because they’re poor or in pain or some other reason. So we come to them and say “I understand your pain and I’m going to give you a lot more pain now. I’m gonna put you in jail. I’m going to make the rest of your life a slippery slope that you can’t get out of. And then let’s see how you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and show us some personal responsibility.”
"Eugene Jarecki, director of “The House I Live In” (via thesoapboxschtick)
(via darkjez)
