There are a lot of unstated or untested assumptions in the article. There are many categories of drug users, not just "addicts" and "party" people. Some peopl

There are a lot of unstated or untested assumptions in the article. There are many categories of drug users, not just "addicts" and "party" people. Some people have chronic pain issues and are subject to medically-imposed restrictions on their consumption of lawful drugs -- to the point where they seek out illegal "drugs" hoping to get something to alleviate their pain. Some people are self-medicating other issues than addiction -- like anxiety. Maybe not a good idea from your point of view and mine, but there they are. (I put "drugs" in quotes because they aren't really -- they are powders and pills sold with fraudulent claims they might contain the substances desired by the customer. And, perhaps, not contain poisons or toxic overdoses.) Few street drugs contain what is advertised -- the Vancouver market is stuck with variable mixes of meth, oxy, sugar, fentanyl, methadone, occasionally some actual heroin, cocaine, benzodiazepine, even carfentanil. Steet buyers receive the same crap regardless of what they want. It's a serious game of russian roulette when ingesting this stuff. Nalaxone is a common upsell for street "drugs" -- buy your stuff and your opioid antagonist in case the stuff is poison. (Nalaxone is free in BC). Harm Reduction is a difficult proposition when governments have decades-old policies and international treaties enforcing prohibition. Putting addicts on lawful drugs draws easy political fire ("subsidizing fiends"). And how does a pharmaceutical company even get close to trying to develop and market a "smokable" lawful opioid (because that is what the customers want)? Over 10,000 dead people in British Columbia (population about 5 million) due to opioid overdoses. Since 2016. https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022PSSG0056-001250 https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022PSSG0056-001250