Its just another casualty on that stupid war on drugs that the US will never win.
Every society has its psychopaths. If there's no law and order (e.g Somalia), the psychos become warlords, and impose their own brand of law and order.
USA does have l.a.o; so becoming a warlord is not available for USA psychos. The USA needs another outlet by which the USA's vicious violent psychopaths can make a good living.
The USA's War On Drugs is that outlet. How else would US psychopaths whose only skill is to be viciously violent, even earn a living, if USA were to drop the W.O.D?
The notion that the W.O.D. deters vulnerable teenagers and young adults from doing drugs, was disproved and dismissed long ago. But one effect of the W.O.D. is that it enables USA's psychopaths to thrive and prosper by being vicious and violent -- so at least the W.O.D. focuses the harm USA psychopaths do onto the clowns who do drugs.
Same applies to prostitution. If USA were to decriminalize prostitution, it would no longer be profitable for vicious thugs to become pimps -- and who knows then what section of society they might harm?