I'm quite happy with widespread decriminalisation of drug possession, in fact, I can see it as a potential economic boom on the horizon, and the stock market agrees given the sheer amount of "weed stonks" available these days and their year-to-year performance. I think legal drugs subject to FDA approval would not only reduce the levels of gang violence, which is often linked with back alley drug deals going sideways, it would also make the whole thing safer for users. Laced drugs are not uncommon since the number one priority for the average dealer is to have large volume of cheap and highly addictive drugs - safety is on the back burner. We've learned this lesson during prohibition and immediately forgot. People are going to indulge in these kinds of vices regardless, the best thing a government can do is ensure that it's safe without leaving a void ready to be filled in by organised crime.
In terms of gun control, there are certain regulations that I would like to see implemented and others that should be rescinded - far too many to even list without a dedicated thread just about gun control. There's a lot of focus put on the tool and not a lot on the person holding it. Progressively gimping the hammer doesn't fix the problem of guys running around bludgeoning people, you're only hurting the ones who don't and just need to hammer some nails in.
In regards to the border, some degree of physical barriers in areas that border patrol can't monitor effectively makes perfect sense - illegal immigration shouldn't be the default mode of entering the country for the "downtrodden". On the flip side, I think that getting citizenship the legal way should be fairly simple and straightforward, and right now it's not - it can take years to get it done, in no small part due to poor communication between the US and its neighbours. Deportation I won't even touch with a long stick - it's always rough regardless of how you do it, but the way I see it, actions have consequences - entering the country illegally is, as the name implies, illegal. I don't see why we should forget that part.
In terms of police reform, I don't think defunding the police is the answer - more proactive policing is. The number of police officers shouldn't decrease, it should increase, but at the same time there's no reason why they should be getting increasingly large amounts of military-grade gear. It's another chestnut with no clear answers in sight.
In terms of universal healthcare, I'm not a fan - I should know, I've lived under two of those systems and I'm yet to decide which one was worse. I see the merit in a limited public option for those who simply can't afford the alternative, but overall I'm leaning towards a free market solution occasionally refunding some treatments as opposed to the opposite - a heavily regulated public option with occasional private elective procedures. I don't think the current setup can be "fixed" or reformed, it needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scratch. A lot of the issues don't start at the hospital's threshold, they start in the insurance companies which operate at ridiculous profit margins without offering competitive service. If I were to reform things, I'd start with regulating them, not healthcare providers.
