Huh? Do you seriously think that if opiates were freely available that would somehow have eliminated all addiction issues with these highly addictive substances? No, you can't really think that.

Looking past judgement and focusing on practical damage control is a good idea, but the article's attempt to equivocate AIDS with addiction is ridiculous. Addiction is a different challenge. Someone who has a physical disease generally wants and accepts help, whereas an addict often does not.