Another solution might be to allow opiate addicts to have access to safer versions (e.g., pharma grade and/or grow their own poppies). My brother died of a her

Another solution might be to allow opiate addicts to have access to safer versions (e.g., pharma grade and/or grow their own poppies). My brother died of a heroin overdose many years ago -- it was illegal then (of course) and the country spent billions on "drug enforcement" but it didn't stop the black market from providing him a dangerous drug with no way of knowing purity. Drug addiction is a health issue and by criminalizing it we don't make it go away, we just make it more expensive and more destructive to society.