I am pro legalization but I would never see a drug user as a victim. No more than an alcoholic driving a car is a victim. The flip side of freedom is responsibility. The state will not make decisions for you, and therefore you are responsible for your own decisions. It's not like if the long term effects of drugs aren't well and widely known.
One of the biggest problems with drugs is the addictiveness. You seem to have no problem with addictions, so let me inform you. It fucking sucks. Your entirely of being is focused on getting to that next respite of peace that only some substance seems to be able to provide. Goals? Fuck em. Job? Who cares. Commit crimes for cash? Absolutely.
The problem with hardcore drug use is that it literally strips you of your decision making capabilities. Many people describe it as a secondary being within their body, for damn good reason.
The only reason I ended up 'normal' and not an addict is that I had the support system in place to deal with the underlying issues that caused my reckless behaviour, before they led somewhere I had no coming back from.
My addiction started with Adderall, prescribed by a doctor.
I agree but once the drug user is addicted it is too late. Addiction as a result of a treatment is a different matter. But the responsibility is for a user to chose to consume recreational drugs in the knowledge of the large risk of addiction and long term effects on the brain. These risks are widely known, and there is almost not a single movie that doesn't depict drug users as junkies. People should be free to take their chance nevertheless but I don't see them as victims.
Surely you don't think the only victim in the drug trafficking industry are actually drug users?