On one hand, opioid addiction is a serious problem, but on the other, I've seen patients who were told to take over-the-counter medication when they genuinely needed something stronger. Different people react differently to the same drug - when I took oxycodone after a surgery, I went through mild withdrawal, but nothing worse. Some people aren't that lucky.
If weed works for a particular case that's certainly a better alternative but it's not a cure-all. I'm all for marijuana being legal, medical or not, but I have zero respect for pothead clowns. It's the same with alcohol and alcoholics - it's a matter of self-control. Most people can handle it, a few can't.
I hope the rumors about opioids being "handed out like candy" in NFL locker rooms aren't true. This election cycle the ACLU (American Communist Lovers Union) is making a push for decriminalizing hard drugs, including heroin, under "muh disparate impact" ("too many" members of the Magical Race supposedly are getting locked up for heroin). No doubt they're trying to piggyback on the success of marijuana decriminalization/legalization, but they're not the same thing at all. Most people can use marijuana or alcohol and still have normal, functional lives. No one who shoots heroin has a normal, functional life.