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I think a big part of the problem is that people believe that criminalizing a substance discourages most people from using it, and that if these substances were decriminalized, or even legalized, usage rates would skyrocket.
Fact of the matter is that this is not the case. Those people who use drugs do so regardless of the legality of it. The Netherlands, despite decriminalizing cannabis to the point of being legal in all but name (still regulated, btw), has lower usage rates than Germany, France, Spain, and some other European countries.
The United States, despite heavy prohibition laws against most of these psychoactive substances, has some of the highest usage rates in the world. The cocaine in the US, for example, is purer and cheaper than anywhere else in the world save perhaps the countries of origin.
I would argue, it'd be far more effective (and cheaper) to legalize all these "bad" substances and spend money on treatment programs to help those that do develop substance abuse problems.
Afterall, when it comes down to it, substance abuse is a public health problem, not a criminal issue. Or would you propose outlawing tobacco use in order to reduce cancer rates?
The "war on drugs" has been a disastrous failure. Far more lives have been lost or destroyed because of it than have been "saved".
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