The problem is that 2/3 to 3/4 of all crime is drug related in the following manner:
1] Criminals who commit crimes to pay the high prices which criminalization creates.
2] Criminals who commit crimes under the influence. Vendors sell more potent drugs specifically to hook people and to induce others to become vendors and take the risk of jail for them.
3] Those who use drugs. Since most illegal drugs are less addictive and potent than alcohol and/or nicotine, most arrested users are as responsible as the 90+% of alcohol users who bother no one.
The bottom line is that the War on Drugs has created a huge crime problem. Nicotine is as addictive and toxic as any street drug, yet nobody - even minors, who are banned from use - is committing crimes to support their nicotine habit. Nicotine, the gateway drug to drug addiction, is regulated to some degree and vendors are held responsible for consequences to users to the same degree.
There are no sheriffs calling for decriminalization and regulation of ALL dangerous drugs [like alcohol and tobacco] - which are used responsibly by most users. Without the WOD their budgets would shrink and they are more hooked on taxpayer money than any of the criminals in jail. This November, I'm just saying no - it's not about public safety, it's about budgets.