“The problem is that we have a drug policy that is broken,” San Francisco’s District Attorney George Garcón told me. “As a country we are being almost bipolar when it comes to drug policy.” A former San Francisco Chief of Police, Garcón is critical of the recent crackdown by the Department of Justice, which he says will make it harder for local officials to do their job. But he also sees no real hope for resolving the conflict until state and federal politicians come together to deal with the conflicting laws. “You can’t resolve this under the current legislative scheme,” he told me. “What this really screams for a cohesive national policy.”

Read more: swampland.time.com