The main societal issue is that we've conflated a public health issue with a criminal one, and created a system of perverse incentives and propaganda that ensur

The main societal issue is that we've conflated a public health issue with a criminal one, and created a system of perverse incentives and propaganda that ensures that it remains a criminal one. When a drug user is labeled a "criminal" by the state, the role of the state changes from "helping them recover and rehabilitate" to "punish and contain", which helps nobody. Yes we have rehab programs, yes we have non-prison methods for non-violent offenders, but getting the "better" end of the legal system requires the privilege of a good lawyer and knowledge of how to navigate a system that is effectively predatory without one. You have not said they should be criminalized, but too often the idea "Drugs can be harmful" is followed by "Drug use should be criminalized". Another point is that not all drugs are the same. Fentanyl is a very different drug than, say, psychedelics, and should be treated as such. A lot of that is also part of the culture of criminalization, where we treat all "illegal" drugs as the same thing, consumed by the same dehumanized "criminals" for the same hedonistic purposes. Which is totally different than "momma's little helper" that some billionaire convinced her doctor to prescribe her. By the same token, Adderall is a different drug than MDMA, but somehow one of them I'll definitely go to jail for possessing, the other I can get a doctor to prescribe to me.