The most common crime committed by drug addicts is shoplifting (not that I'm belittling the effects of crime on victims, nor that users shouldn't be held responsible for their acts) and quite often they have such a history that prison is inevitable.
This can only be a good thing IMO, we need to support users (as in "be there for them and keep them from harm" rather than "encourage").
I have first hand experience of dealing with drug users from a criminal justice point of view and the only ones that I see kicking the habit are those that get...