I see where you are coming from. The main reason, I think, for drug users being demonized is legality. It is very easy for people to equate lawful with good. If people are doing illegal things, they must be bad, right? Another reason might be scarcity of information. The people who are likely to become addicted are less likely to have access to accurate, unbiased information about specific drugs. The type of information that is provided tends to be along the lines of "drugs are bad, m'kay" without any real information. I think the best way to combat these is to legalize, tax, and regulate all drugs and to provide accurate information on drugs and drug safety. That's likely to be pretty controversial, and I don't think it'll happen any time soon, but It seems to be the only way that promotes safety and protects individual freedom.
That's the sentiment I hear a lot when it comes to this issue. I can see such a change happening in the more free-minded European countries (and it already happened in Switzerland as I've mentioned in the post), but for both Russia and the United States, that, indeed, seems like a stretch to presume it's going to happen any time soon. There seems to be a movement to legalize marijuana in the US, which is a good first step towards the solution. Anything else on the matter that I should know about? Any other movements? or political/cultural sentiments?Another reason might be scarcity of information. <..> I think the best way to combat these is to legalize, tax, and regulate all drugs and to provide accurate information on drugs and drug safety.
I'm not sure that I'm the best person to be discussing movements/general sentiments with. My knowledge tends to be more in the realm of the effects and use of specific drugs. I will say that there has recently been an increase in scientific research on drugs such as MDMA, LSD, and psilocybin. This, I think, bodes well for the future of drug policy.