> Despite the current false narrative, the addiction rate among people prescribed opioids for pain in the United States, for example, ranges from less than 1 percent to 8 percent.
What's the threshold where it's a problem? 1% of prescription drug users getting addicted sounds like a terrible situation to me. Let alone 8%. Especially if they're already in a situation where finding a way to escape is tempting.
There would be few to no deaths, suffering, or crime associated with heroin if it were cheap and accessible, and if addicts were under the care of a doctor or social worker. It would be a mild burden to public health services tasked with helping people quit, but far cheaper than tobacco smoking or alcoholism.
I think legalizing it to the point where an addict had access to predictable dosage would save countless lives.
If anyone were left to their own devices and still in pain, I suspect a lot more than 8% would continue to take the painkillers.