My wife was applying to be a licensed clinician in a remote town back in March (Alamosa, Colorado).

One of the interview questions was, "What is a self-care ritual you currently have that would be made more difficult by moving here?" Its slightly morphed version of a common interview question in mental health around self-care.

Her answer was simple, and had an immediate echo from the other clinicians. "Target"

If you don't know Alamosa, Colorado, it is a decent sized town that is about 2.5 hours from civilization. It has a new Walmart Super Center and a Tractor Supply, but that is about it until you get to pueblo for a Target (2.5 hours away), or Colorado Springs (3.5 hours away).

All of the clinicians said their favorite part of the yearly meeting in Denver was going to Target.

The same applies to heroin as well. Deception is deception, no matter how you twist and turn it.

No, the same doesn't apply, as heroin will also cause harm to your body, whereas the other examples (shop therapy for example) don't necessarily cause harm.

Not to mention heroin being illegal...

You need a better example to refute the parent's example