Not to be that guy be decriminalizing and offering alternatives and open treatment with out stigma would allow the free market to help this.
The government going ohs nose we have a prescription drug problem lean hard on the doctors and suppliers just drove normal people that were given bad advice and developed addiction because of injuries and the wrong treatments into the black market were the only affordable alternative for many was heroin.
Going after pharma companies / doctors reduces the supply and cuts down on new addictions. Decriminalizing and destigmatizing helps existing addictions.
I think that's a mostly fair assessment however by reducing supply you have the side effect of making addictions worse. You had people that may have had physical dependency but not addiction who were 100% functional, living lives having the carpet ripped out from under them and having to deal with physical withdrawal.
I agree with you but i don't think anyone would argue that like always when the government gets involved we over corrected.
