It still sounds like you think of a 'typical drug user' as an addict. I think the point was that a good portion of drugs are consumed by fairly responsible, recreational users.
Just because I was talking about addicts, doesn't mean that I think every drug user is a stereotypical addict. Likewise, just because I said that a large number of kids are getting addicted to drugs, doesn't mean that I said that all drug users started as children. Initially, I just mentioned that there is an absurd number of children being exposed to extremely harmful drugs before they are old enough to legitimately make a decision for themselves. There are drugs that are relatively harmless and then there are drugs that will literally destroy your life in a short amount of time, like Meth or Crack. On a personal level I don't really care what a consenting adult does as long as they keep it off the roads, out of the workplace, and as long as it doesn't cause them to mistreat, abuse, or neglect their families.
I've encountered many types of drug users in my lifetime. Several years ago we let my brother in law live with us for 6 months because he was homeless and trying to get off of heroin. He started doing hard drugs as a young teenager because his adopted parents were abusive drug addicts. We watched him regain his health only to have him get addicted to pain medication just a few months after he moved away.
On the other side of the spectrum, I've run into people who have used drugs for 30-40 years for recreational purposes, while enjoying a happy marriage, successful kids, and a steady job.
If you know that the money you spend on your recreational drug flows to drug cartels and funds murder and torture, then yes, you are a "responsible" user, responsible for murder and torture.
Don't buy the drugs and you starve the cartels. You don't have to wait for legalization to have a direct if small impact on murder and torture. Sure, campaign for legalization, but you can take direct action this minute.
The solution to the problem of money going to drug cartels isn't to get everyone to stop using drugs. That approach has been tried and failed spectacularly. When there are capitalistic, systemic problems with drugs and violence, we need to take a systemic approach and legalize and regulate drugs. Demand isn't going anywhere.
Overall demand may not be going anywhere, but any individual can decide that they don't want to send money for murder and torture. Or they can decide that they don't mind.
