ALL the people I’ve known that were trying to stop heroin are dead now. A big part of it is fentanyl but they were known to relapse more frequently and harder.
I don’t know anybody who works in recovery who would agree with this statement.
The closest thing I’ve seen to “grabbing a beer” in the form of other recreational drugs is having a pull or two on a weed vape. I’ve had friends who are not in recovery/never had a substance abuse issue who do that. It’s probably better for you in the long run.
Heroin was for some time used as a cough medicine. Does that qualify?
I think that actually makes the numbers worse. Alcoholism can be masked somewhat because it's socially acceptable to drink. That often delays people seeking treatment for it, sometimes by decades. There's no broadly socially acceptable form of using opiates recreationally.
In terms of resources, it varies significantly but there is Narcan for overdoses and Methadone.
I've known people from wealthy backgrounds, who did several stints in rehabs and did not have to worry about having a job etc... they had all the "resources" in the world and still couldn't stay clean.
This isn't to say it's hopeless, I'm just saying anecdotally that the number of people I know who have been in recovery specifically for heroin and achieved long term sobriety (>2-3 years) is less than the people I knew who are now dead.
Obviously "worse" is a meaningless term unless you specify how it's worse. Maybe they're making a point that alcohol is worse overall for society because of how prevalent it is, but if I was a parent I'd 10000000% rather catch my 16 year old drinking beer than doing opiates of any form.