OK, I'm open, how do we decide to help them become more valuable members of society?
Get them drug counseling, food assistance, housing assistance, school or training. Other beneficiaries are drug counselors, food store, real estate companies who take section 8 and trade shcools etc that teach.
All those things have been tried. What are the results? In rare instances, the person may recover and become useful. It all comes down to the old saying, "you can lead a horse to water..." By propping up the dregs, all we do is enable the greatest number of them to continue their self-destructive behavior. Nature has a way of dealing with creatures that fail to develop the skills needed to survive. As it stands, they are not, nor will most ever be, capable of contributing to society overall. As a matter of fact, by subsidizing people who demonstrate the lack of self interest, we do more to damage the social structure.
Law enforcement, prosecutors and Judges ALL AGREE that drug counseling and treatment is the most effective way to go.
Politicians that answer to the dumb masses ignore them in most instances.