If you give addicts pure heroin a lot of them can function just fine. We should consider the negative consequences of prohibition rather than just the drugs themselves.
Opiates are generally easier on the body than people realize when distributed in a controlled setting. Alcohol does much more damage directly to the body. That's part of why opiates or opioids are still widely prescribed for pain in hospitals, and vodka shots aren't.
It's the addiction that's a bitch. Of course heroin street addicts end up in bad shape-- but a lot of that is from tangential effects, not directly from the drug itself.
