Could Marijuana be the Solution to the Opioid Crisis?

Why yes, yes it could. But first, those in power will have to quit lumping marijuana in with dangerous drugs just because it's been illegal for a long time. They say it's a gateway drug, but that can be fixed if we just take it out of the gateway. I grew up in a dry area, where you could buy alcohol from bootleggers, the guys who also sold marijuana and LSD and opium. Once alcohol was legalized, you no longer had to go to criminals to get it. If marijuana were legal, it could actually break one's dependence on harder drugs, from prescribed Vicoden to heroin.