A robust public health system that includes treatment for drug and alcohol addiction as part of the services offered to the public would be helpful. It's true

A robust public health system that includes treatment for drug and alcohol addiction as part of the services offered to the public would be helpful. It's true that many people won't use such services because of distrust, however (would you want a medical record stating you were a recovering drug or alcohol addict, or mentally ill?). Legalizing and quality controlling drugs would also help - but the problem there is that we live in a advertising-driven consumer society. Alcohol, tobacco and sugar-laced soft drinks are all unhealthy, but that's a profitable enterprise, so people are incentivized to block public health campaigns, restrictions on sales, etc. At some point, the problems become so deeply entrenched and societal in nature that passing laws and setting up government programs doesn't really help. For some reason in the USA, a lot of people are really miserable and their only relief is to turn to drugs and alcohol. That's the more fundamental problem.