Isn't the opioid crisis a crisis because it ruins lives?

Yes but who is going to believe that after hearing so many other drugs will ruin their lives then finding out they don't?

The opioid crisis isn't related to the war on drugs. It was caused by doctors being misinformed about how prescription opioids worked by the drug manufacturers + widely disseminated (funded) research about pain treatment. This caused people to be prescribed opioids without a risk assessment for addiction or similar, and thereby lots of people got addicted after being prescribed for broken bones, surgeries, and general discomforts.

When you hear about X overdoses in an area in a shockingly small amount of time, it's not people dying because they took too many oxycodone pills, it's because of street fentanyl. You can thank the war on drugs for that.

I suspect it was meant as a: "They told me marijuana would ruin my life, but after smoking some, my life is fine, so surely they lied about the other drugs as well"

TL;DR: Marihuana not as bad as stated, surely fentanyl is fine too.

"Marijuana and crank will ruin your life!"

"Here, take some lithium and/or ritalin, or your life will be ruined!"

Cannabis is - in my experience - fun, but medically neutral. Doesn't hurt or help me.

Methamphetamine or similar in recreational doses would probably be terrible for both my physical and mental health. I am aware of at least one person in my personal social circles whose entire life has overtly and drastically deteriorated from that addiction.

I have met a few people who find lithium the only effective treatment for their bipolar disorder. When they can actually get their hands on it, their lives improve significantly.

Methylphenidate (Ritalin) - in an extended release formula (Concerta) - is the most valuable tool I have to treat my ADHD. Thinking back on how my life could have been improved if I had it earlier on...is frustrating to say the least.

It turns out that lazy dichotomies are worthless.