Should people who take drugs be treated as criminals or as patients?

Nowadays , drugs cast a blight on our society . So , what can be done to tackle the problem?
In my opinion , it would be helpful if we adopted a sensitive approach to this particular problem . Certainly , people taking drugs do damage on themselves and we should consider them as patients . On the other hand , when somebody commits a crime , breaks the law and does harm to other people . There are some cases in which dope-addicts resort to crime . However , even in this case , the main reason for becoming '' criminals '' is their addiction to drugs . We have to combat the problem and its fundamental causes from its root .Needless to say that the judges have to impose tough penalties on drug dealers .

Evi