[clementangerine]

> This doesn't explain why people turn specifically to opiates and not to booze or weed.

I think this is just because they are being prescribed more frequently. Unhappy people with no opiate experience aren't just going out on the street and buying heroin, but unhappy people who are prescribed opiates may become addicted. The argument the article is making is that happy people who are prescribed opiates don't become addicted, and that it makes more sense to treat the unhappiness than to restrict opiate prescriptions.