The emptying of state mental hospitals began in the late 1950s following the introduction of chlorpromazine, the first antipsychotic that made discharges possible. The first patients to be discharged were the least sick, the most likely to have continuing contact with their families, those with a place to stay, and those most likely to continue taking their medication. By the late 1970s, most of these easier patients had been discharged. Those remaining in state hospitals proved to be much more challenging upon release. By the 1980s, the consequences of discharging the more difficult patients became visible. At that time, there were said to be at least twice as many severely mentally ill individuals living on the streets and in shelters as there were remaining in state hospitals. The number of severely mentally ill individuals being incarcerated in jails and prisons increased, and violent episodes perpetrated by released patients also grew in number. In the United States, laws were also being changed to make it more difficult to treat mentally ill individuals in the community or rehospitalize them.