Prohibition does not eradicate the problems. The social structures which fuel alienation and despair need changing. Simone Nichol, a feminist whose partner has had a history of drug dependency and is currently in jail, is angry about the lack of support for users and their families. The drug-dependent person ends up ensnared in a system which spends thousands of dollars for jail terms rather than setting up a coordinated and humane approach to rehabilitation. Jim Arachne, from the Victorian AIDS Council, is another critic of prohibition.
Some people eat, drink, smoke or inject more dubious substances than is wise.
The second is political. Chemical dependency is often the result of the stresses and strains of capitalism, which doesn't care how many people it fires, alienates, impoverishes, or jails in pursuit of the dollar. What's called for is a crackdown against capitalist misery, not against drug users. Release those in jail for drug use and open free, medically supervised dispensaries. Destroy the material incentive for the wealthy parasites who peddle agony and death.