You're comparing water to heroine, cocaine, amphetamines, crack, inhalants and others? This is a joke, right?

Have you any experience with addicts at all or is all of this coming from an Ivory Tower, safe from the real world?

Maybe you should stop assuming that everyone who disagrees with you is a 'child' and/or coming from a sheltered upbringing. I can tell you from personal experience and the experiences of numerous close friends that addiction does not necessarily lead to rock bottom. Though it will undoubtedly have negative effects they are not always as nightmarish as what you've seen. So maybe you should check your bias at the door before you make grossly presumptuous statements about others.

I don't think anyone here would question whether or not drug abuse can ruin lives. The real question is whether or not the War on Drugs helps more lives than it destroys. I think the answer is pretty obvious when you look at case studies like the failure of Prohibition and, more recently, the success in Portugal (essentially complete decriminalization of drugs) and Vancouver (needle exchange programs).

Finally, just because you've only been exposed to the negative aspects of drug use (which there are plenty) does not mean that there aren't any positive aspects to it. You clearly have an informed view of the negative aspects but judging from your other comments I'm guessing you have little to no experience with taking drugs yourself (correct me if I'm wrong), which means that you are completely ignorant to the positive aspects. And believe me, there are many. Furthermore, you have to realize how much a person's mental state affects their potential for substance abuse. I can tell you from personal experience that it's not as simple as 'everyone who tries cocaine will get addicted to it'. The stigma that society has placed around recreational drug use has made it a very private topic for most people, which introduces a significant selection bias that favors the negative/public cases. I'd be willing to bet that a lot more people than you think have experimented with recreational drug use.

look at this other posts. pure ivory tower.