The root of the problem is the human. People have getting fucked up on various things throughout history.
YOU WILL NEVER STOP THAT FROM HAPPENING
Drugs are ridiculously illegal right now yet people are still doing them. The more extreme the penalties the more profit to be made by selling them. With increased risk comes increased reward.
Even if you manage to get rid of all the drugs coming into the US, people will be getting high off paint, duster, or whatever else lying around. You manage to get rid of anything like that and people will still be getting high from self asphyxiation, jenk balloons or whatever the hell they can come up with.
People just don't get it. THE DRUG WAR IS A FAILURE. It's hasn't worked, and it's never going to work. It's a horribly failed policy that has done so much harm.
If you want to go after the REAL root of the problem start with the individual. If we put even some of the money we spend on the drug war into education and treatment programs we could actually do something positive.
Once again THE DRUG WAR DOESN'T WORK.Look at all the money they spend every year, all the people arrested, all the drugs confiscated. How much of a dent has that made? Everything is still pretty widely available and we've been throwing everything we have at it.
It's time to admit we dun goofed, end the fucking drug war, and make a REAL plan as to what we can do to fight addiction and other drug related problems.