Spoken by someone who has never known an opioid or cocaine addict, and watched lives crumble, sometimes into death.
Most drugs are quite dangerous and have seriously adverse affects upon populations at large.
Cocaine, Meth, and Opioids create massive social health problems far beyond anything dope or alcohol ever could.
I have no doubt there are 'responsible' users out there, but in general, those things will lay waste to populations at large.
I had a friend who lived in his (wealthy) parents basement, smocking crack all day, every day. Visiting with him - there was gerbil feces everywhere, a divot in the sofa were he sat all day, and a pile of ashes next to him on the sofa. He had every opportunity in life, he now lives in a clinic.
Another 'responsible partier' friend in who died of suffocation 'laughing gas' mask to his face.
Another - a weed addict (yes, despite the fact that pot is not really chemically addictive, there is definitely such a thing as addiction) - who threw himself in front of a subway in despair. Not blaming the drugs, but it's specifically related in this case.
A family member who is point-blank prescription opioid addict - and it's complicated because she gets debilitating migraines that few drugs can help her with, but the 'solution' is poison.
And finally - close family members and friends who are 'chronic' pot smokers, who manage it quite well, but are basically always high. It has dramatically affected their lives, though they are functional - they are entirely different people. I'm not sure if I would call that addiction, but I would say it is problematic.
I live in a mixed neighbourhood of creatives/wealthy/working class, there's a health clinic across the street - and the effect of crack in my neighbourhood is quite visible.
Visit places where the 'war on drugs' is truly being lost, like West Virginia, and you get the picture pretty quickly.
Of course there is no reason to put pot smokers in jail - but this antagonism about the 'war on drugs' is very naive, unsympathetic, and dangerous.
Chewing on coca leaves? Maybe. The occasional LSD/Hyabithsca user? Doesn't matter.
But there is no way we will legalize opioids, coke, meth - it doesn't matter that some can 'handle it' - it just wreaks havoc overall. On the whole they destroy lives, families, social scenes, and this is before the legal framework.
I think that the 'perception' problem of the 'war on drugs' is largely led by people who are recreational users, living in the 'Burning Man' bubble of people who have their act together. Then they read up on 'jailing' because of this and that. Remember that if you're in that club, heck, if you're reading HN, you're probably in the top 5% of Americans, and probably the top 0.1% of global population.
Visit your local Salvation Army :)