I've been around the block.  Where drugs have been legalised, or at least been made non-criminal, use has gone down, people have received treatment, as well as crime decresing.  Let's deal with facts here, not your conjecture.  The opioid epidemic is not so much as an increase in drug use, it's just what is readily available, and the additives are what is largely causing the deaths.  Besides, much of the problem comes from the over-prescribing heavy duty pain killing  drugs.  And lets not confuse marijuana with hard drugs.  It's not addictive and it is not a gateway drug