[DoubleCribble]

I'll give you a good reason, healthcare costs. You think all that life saving medical care after an overdose is free or cheap? It's the same reason why motorcycle helmets are required by the government in many states. The public doesn't want to pay for the un/under-insured comatose rider's prolonged stay in the hospital after an accident.

[misnome]

Does it cost more to treat an overdose than it does to hold someone full-time in prison?

[DoubleCribble]

Undeniably, yes, it costs more to treat a patient on a per/day basis.

US Federal inmates cost ~$38,000 per year or ~$107/day. (approx based on previous years' info) [0] Just the ambulance ride alone is going cost much more than that. Add in hospital admission and treatment for all those nasty needle shared diseases and maybe an organ failure or two (livers can only put up with so much abuse) and the cost skyrockets.

[0]https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/04/30/2018-09...

[superchink]

Isn't this a false dichotomy? By putting people in prison, are we meaningfully reducing the frequency of drug use that may lead to overdose?

Serious question.