Colorado legalized marijuana for recreational use and stores opened January 1, 2014. They are widespread in the state.

In 2014 and 2015, heroin overdose deaths in Colorado continued to increase over prior years. Among Colorado men, heroin overdose deaths in 2014 increased 31% over 2013. Among women, 16%.

http://gazette.com/overdosing-on-heroin-use-deaths-surge-in-...

Marijuana legalization does not appear to be a panacea to opiod abuse. Recreational marijuana use has a very different origin than prescription painkiller addiction (which often begins with usage to manage real pain, but spins into an addiction that then turns to heroin when the pills become too expensive).

But how did this compare to other states that did not legalize marijuana? Confounding variables can be quite pesky.

Or... legalize opiates? It's clear that the actual problem in stories like this article is purely caused by legality and the prices it entails. Opiates are really cheap (if you don't by brand-name ones). It'd be no big deal at all for people to use if they didn't pay these ridiculous prices. No stealing. No using dirty needles if they could just get them. And on and on.

Plus people wouldn't be as tempted to switch from properly produced pharma-grade pills to "street heroin", which can vary immensely in quality and purity. They do now because the pricing is out of control, due to the DEA's war on pain patients.

Yes, legalize opiates too (and everything else as well). I'd wager that a majority would be happy with using cannabis for pain management and recreation if it was cheap and available.