I disagree, making drugs legal is sanctioning their use. Legalizing hard drugs is taking the stigma away. We took the stigma away from pre-marital sex, what happened ? We took the stigma away from out of wedlock births, what happened? Same would happen with hard core drugs.
I think a simpler solution. Druggie colonies- similar to leper colonies of the Middle Ages. Isolation, reduces the contagion, says your helpless and incurable, and will result in a safer general public. IMHO
Legalising the drugs which are currently illegal would make them much, much cheaper and with fewer impurities, which may make a lot of addicts more functional. It would also reduce the instances of crime perpetrated by desperate addicts searching for a fix if they were as cheap as a bottle of beer.
As for the addicts themselves, I am rather indifferent to them. They choose what to put in their bodies and the consequences they suffer are only of concern to me insofar as how they affect innocent people. I believe the interests of the latter would be better served by legalising drugs and kicking the revenue stream away from organised criminals and terrorists, as well as making the drugs so cheap that most addicts wouldn't need to commit serious crimes against the innocent to get the money they need to pay for them.