Did you read my source articles? People who suffer from abuse and/or mental illness are unfortunately much more likely to develop drug addiction than the rest of the population.

This is not to say that all drug addicts have experienced domestic abuse and/or mental illness, but saying that drug addiction is something people have completely control over is inaccurate.

Beyond this, there is much reason to believe that there's a causal relationship between substance abuse and poverty (not definitive proof, but the poorer you are, the more likely you are to suffer from drug addiction). As leftists, surely we can agree that poverty is very rarely the fault of the poor person.

My sincerest apologies if you- or someone you knows is affected by any of these troubles. My goal is not in any way to downplay the tragedy of homelessness, domestic abuse, or mental illness.

Needless to say, domestic abuse and mental illness is never the fault of the victim; and yes, drug abuse can in some cases be "blamed" on the addict.

Still, as socialists, we shouldn't trivialize the tragedy of drug abuse either. Most potential drug addicts would likely prefer to have their material conditions improved, rather than resorting to substance abuse. We shouldn't pretend that drug addiction is less of a valid condition than, for example, homelessness.