Many jails do not have the training and resources for detoxification and if the condition of the subject becomes serious they will take them to the ER. Sometimes the subject is assaultive or uncooperative they are returned to jail untreated (the chances of this happening are small but not zero). If the subject dies the public will  want to hold somebody responsible.

Rooge, prior to 1914, we didn't have the problems that we have today regarding presently illegal drugs...because they weren't, back then.

All manner of drugs, many of them addictive, were sold openly, to all adult comers, and no one was dying in drive by shootings, muggings, etc. That is because the legality of those drugs also made them cheap to purchase. Drug addiction was well known, of course...but it was an issue handled between the addict/patient and his/her physician. By getting away from that, by inserting The State into the matter, we've created the mess we have today.

But there's one more issue to be brought up, and that's the one of personal responsibility. Although some people back then became addicted courtesy of medical problems, many obviously went out and sought the 'experience' afforded by those drugs, and became addicted.

But because the drugs were both cheap and legal, they were able to manage their addictions, instead of becoming a threat to the rest of society via theft and murder. Just as most people addicted to alcohol are able to do. The greatest threat anyone has from such unfortunates is in-your-face panhandling.

If we are forced to return to such a situation where we can no longer afford drug prohibition as we were with alcohol Prohibition, the onus will once more be upon the average citizen to engage in 'self-regulation', as we expect of 'social drinkers'. Those who can't - or won't - would have to seek treatment, or face the same legal consequences those who can't or won't with alcohol.

When it becomes obvious that there's only so much money to throw at a problem that was artificially created a few generations back by short-sighted pols, culture warriors of both Left and Right (i.e. the national drug laws of this country were first formulated during the first two decades of the last century, commonly referred to as the 'Progressive Era', but the laws have been embraced by the Right wing as a whipping stick to be applied to the Left) and self-serving interests (bureaucrats, industrialists, etc.).

As Victor Hugo put it long ago, "He who opens a school, closes a prison." As things get tighter, we will be faced with the inevitable choice: money for schools...or prisons.