Nothing is a simple as it at first appears, and the drug problem is far from simple.
When a practice that brings pleasure, even with some predicable bad consequences, is prohibited, the practice will continue and result in corrupting people charged with enforcing the law and in higher prices for less safe products. The prohibition on the sale of alcohol was tried nearly 80 years ago, and was given up as a failure 13 years later. And that's only the mere dollar cost, not counting the disruption of families and the diversion of young careers into crime. Nothing is a simple as it at first appears, and the drug problem is far from simple. Stern prohibition is not the answer.