I don't wish to repeat excessively what I said in another post. However, to summarize, in spite of the interesting points you have made there is a strong reason to deal with drug abuse and addiction as a disease: the public health approach is far more effective (overall, and on a per-dollar basis) at reducing the costs and harms borne by society as a result of drug abuse and addiction than the criminal justice approach. Defining drug abuse as a disease rather than as a crime is a step in the right direction, and may help shift scarce resources into a more productive utilization system in the long run.