I've met them, and many are not that different from us.

- flight stewardess who lost job from smoking a joint

- lawyer who lost his wealth from poor investments

- former hockey player addicted to opiates from hospital after injury

- elderly man, also became addicted when given opiates at the hospital

- immigrant from Asia who has had no luck finding a job

- war veterans

- artists

- former nurse

- IT professional, now addicted to opiates

- an extremely nice patient who had autism and no family to support him

- various patients with psychosis, mania, schizophrenia

- adolescents born into a family with drugs (we had a father-son pair who were both on methadone and were supporting each other, they both had jobs and were looking to piece together their lives)

... and this is from an inner-city setting. You might even have coworkers who were former "junkies", or who have children struggling with addictions.

I understand your mindset (I had similar views when I was a teenager). Others may secretly have the same views as well. But I think it is a naive one.

Here's an interview with a very self-aware addict.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6ZFzEW7_Q4

You almost certainly interact with fully functioning addicts every day and don't realize it. If not you must be an agoraphobe. Anyways, I hope you realize the arrogance and cruelty of your beliefs before you lose someone to this epidemic.