[ahkwsdjr] opioids vs marijuana

the United States recently legalized (but regulated) two recreational drugs: opioids (not legalized for recreational use) and marijuana (in some states).  their corresponding effects on society have been very different.  why have they been so different?

easiest possible explanation is that marijuana is much less addictive than opioids, and overdose is much less likely to kill you.  does this explain everything?

maybe marijuana will eventually have huge negative effects on society similar to the opioid crisis, but it is still too early to tell.  marijuana opponents of course shrilly proclaim terrible things.

motivation is, which other recreational drugs should be legalized?

we also have at least 3 other widely used legal recreational drugs to compare against: caffeine, alcohol, nicotine (all addictive).  maybe nitrous oxide.  maybe mass-media entertainment (probably addictive).  maybe oxygen.  others?

the causes and especially timing of the opioid crisis seem mysterious.  pain and chronic pain have (presumably) been around for a long time, as have opioids as painkiller medication (so technically not a recent legalization).  oxycodone is 1916, though OxyContin, time-release oxycodone, 1995, is often marked as the start of the crisis.  was OxyContin that much better than previous opioids?  perhaps at marketing?  though aggressively marketing an addictive substance (see others above) doesn't seem anything new.

that the cause of the crisis is mysterious is itself mysterious, because so many people participated, so there can't be much concealed information.