> If you could purchase any drug OTC at a fair price, virtually no one would be risking their life on dodgy street drugs.
I had a big post here comparing the black market for marijuana here in Oregon (spoiler: it’s larger than ever, half the cost of retail, and now largely run by cartels) but ultimately the larger issue society seems blind to is that addicts don’t think rationally about their addictions.
So yes, opioid addicts absolutely will risk their lives to get a hit that costs half as much.
Right, that's why I said a "fair market price", not "heavily regulated and taxed to pay for facilities for junkies and pay for drug education". My understanding is that opiates can be produced dirt cheap.
Also I have absolutely no clue, and I doubt there is really even data on it, but there are a lot of people who are dying from fentanyl who aren't opiate addicts at all. One person I knew who died last year couldn't afford healthcare, bought their anxiety meds online, and died in their room from fentanyl. Another person I knew died from ectasy, and having talked around it's a common story.
I had a big post here comparing the black market for marijuana here in Oregon (spoiler: it’s larger than ever, half the cost of retail, and now largely run by cartels) but ultimately the larger issue society seems blind to is that addicts don’t think rationally about their addictions.
So yes, opioid addicts absolutely will risk their lives to get a hit that costs half as much.