People are looking at this article from two different POV’s.
1. A common street addict. Some punk using opoids just to get high. The consensus is - they deserve little to no mercy.
2. A loved one dealing with excruciating pain. Through no fault of their own, they were prescribed legal narcotics that lead to their addiction. They deserve all the kindness and mercy in the world.
Then there are the “eff ‘em. Legalize all drugs and let ‘em die” crowd. These people are the sickest of all.
Unfortunately, almost every addict fits into both categories at the same time. Most addicts have families so to the families (at least at first) They deserve all the kindness and mercy in the world.
However, If you don't know them and they're sucking up your tax dollars and emergency medical resources and your father died of a heart attack in the ambulance because all of the EMTs were out dealing with narcotic ODs and didn't get to him for over an hour then they're street punks who deserve no mercy.