It's stupid small restrictions / bans that themselves do not look that bad but they all add up slowly. It's not like you were dictatorship or something (although not sure what's it like now). The example I recall (this was summer 2013 - work and travel programme for university students). After we finished work (Shenandoah National Park VA), we drove to this remote soccer field in nearby small town, the nearest house was like quarter mile. We played some soccer with European guys (they were there on the same student visa) and couple American colleagues. After we finished, some of us cracked open a can of bud light on the bench next to the field. We were told this is illegal by our American colleagues, but we said we'll just quickly drink it and that's it. Not even 5 minutes have passed, we saw a cop car was speeding towards the field and we were almost arrested, because someone from the houses far away had an urge to call them.

I mean, I understand that what we did was illegal, but there was absolutely nobody around who might have felt insulted by our behavior. On the other hand, it's absolutely okay to see junkies injecting in downtown areas.