In crime there seems to be the oposite of survivor bias.
We see the successful legal businesses without seeing those that failed.
We see the failed drug dealers without seeing those that succeeded.
We see the successful legal businesses without seeing those that failed.
We see the failed drug dealers without seeing those that succeeded.
How would the government do what you are accusing them of? How would they hide successful drug dealers from the public?
We shouldn't assume that people go into the business because it's rational to do so. They see the short term gains, not the long term risks.
I might be wrong but I think any criminal who really cared about long term risk adjusted gains stayed away from selling a few pills here and there.
Especially with the amount of drug use, the logistical challenge isn't trivial.