I believe the legal repercussions are part of that “can ruin your life”, not just the addiction and/or health concerns.
Though that still makes it an entirely artificial consequence that does not need to and should not exist.
Regan’s administration started the war on drugs. Convicting drugs users of a criminal crime has the effect of taking the right to vote away from people who tended not to vote for the Republican party and allowed them to be legally used as slave labour. At least one member of that administration has explicitly stated that this was a strategic decision to win elections.
I think it was John Erlichman who served under Nixon who said that. Whether that’s true is actually disputed though: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_on_drugs#20th_century
I agree that both Nixon’s and Reagan’s policies on drugs were pretty harmful though.
It didn’t say what mechanism would be used for the drugs to ruin your life. Prison works just as well as turning tricks for smack as far as life ruining goes.
Conspiracy to enslave the poor.
Logic is prison slave labor=$$$
