Mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses are a failure because they fill prisons with low-level addicts instead of dealers. I've seen the numbers: since the 1980s, prison population quadrupled, yet overdose deaths barely changed until very recently when other policies shifted. These laws were supposed to deter, but they mainly wreck families and drain budgets. States that rolled back mandatory minimums, like New Jersey, reported no rise in crime while saving millions. Why should we keep a system that punishes illness and ignores basic cost-effectiveness?