I am very uncomfortable with your presumptive use of 'degenerate' here. Are you equating addicts with degeneracy, and what comprises degeneracy in your view?
And what is a drug - Does alcohol count? I know a guy who's drinking himself to death but has his own house.
I'm sorry that makes you feel uncomfortable. I view degeneracy as the moral decay that causes the societal and familial ties to dissipate, as well as the inability for a local or state government to manage its people, that results in feces and tents littering my street from broken humans unable to take care of themselves.
Obviously it's both, right? Although "help" is an interesting term. It can span a lot of policies, some that make sense, others that don't. Meanwhile the degeneration of familial support networks and moral codes plays a part in a more atomized society, where falling into drug addiction with no non-state help becomes increasingly common.
And what is a drug - Does alcohol count? I know a guy who's drinking himself to death but has his own house.
Also what do you think of this https://www.spectator.co.uk/2015/05/the-case-for-prescriptio...