Personally, opioids - although creating a form of "blissful apathy" - allow me to function at a much higher level than normal, and I find myself highly motivated while in the "here and now" while on opioids. I use very low doses - 1 mg of dilaudid a day - for a slight but extremely profound alteration of my mood, and also for the relief of chronic physical pain.
I think it has a lot to do with level of dose, of course "nodding out" is going to make people lazy and consumed by the high. Judging from my low dose experiences, it is extremely powerful stuff. I have never once nodded out though, I have no desire to use opioids for that purpose and I never will. I consider high doses a threat to my body and mind.
I think they can be highly effective medications if they are not abused.
When I take opiods, there are no physical effects to be noted apart from the total relief of the agony of my years of debilitating spinal nerve pain that cannot be dealt with in any other way. I will be able to get out of bed, cook myself food, and even get a little physical exercise or have sex. Otherwise I am crippled in agony with nerve pain, so obviously I am self medicating in a sense.
Cannabis does not work for me and believe me I have tried. It did way more harm than good (actually it never did anything good whatsoever for me at all... it completely set me off course in life in pursuit of a pointless addiction that fucked me up for many years). With cannabis I am lazy, anxious, and useless, no matter how much I am smoking. I am not normally this way, although abusing cannabis and smoking an ounce a week did have some long term effects.
Psychedelics do not work for me - although I am spiritually inclined, I do not like having my consciousness altered because it's almost always unconstructive in my case and I consider it dangerous to the brain personally, I'm not the most stable guy. I'd much rather read the Tibetan Book of the Dead and meditate than take a hit of acid which again just sets me off course, screws with my physiology. I got nothing out of those. Stimulants cause me too much anxiety, even coffee. I'm just sensitive to most drugs and they are pointless for me.
I do not find that a low dose of opioids is numbing to my brain at all. It numbs my physical agony, but I warmly welcome that. All my mental problems are still there, it's not like I'm all high and pretending that I'm living in some dreamworld, like with weed how I transformed into a completely different person. I am still myself, in no way am I delusional or out of it, and in no way do I lack control over myself. I am able to handle my problems, I am able to control my emotions. I am happier and more confident, it is quite uplifting. I have a better grip on feelings such as powerful lust, anger, jealousy, frustration, and other negative emotions. The emotions are not being blocked out, I am still experiencing them. It's just that I have a new perspective on them. I am transcending them, and much better able to direct my energy accordingly. I also find that it is mentally stimulating - I'm not one for caffeinated beverages, but my brain works really hard when I'm on opioids - and I actually get a little anxious from it, but I love to study and challenge my brain while on this class of drugs. It is the opposite of laziness, lethargic feelings for me.
I would hardly call it getting high. I would call it medicating all of my life issues that are bringing me down, so that I can be the person I want to be, which has nothing to do with being a drug addict - my normal self, the pursuit of my career path and all my hobbies and interests, which isn't possible without drug use anymore since I destroyed myself mainly through abusing cannabis over a decade. Yes it can happen, that weed can DEFINITELY fuck with your head just like any other drug. You can get insanely hooked and lose yourself, obviously I am aware that this can be an issue with opioid use as well for some people. Possibly even myself, since I use them. I do not consider myself immune to their power, and I approach with caution. I learned a lot from being a drug addict in the past as well, that abusing drugs gets you nowhere good. I think I have finally found what I was looking for in the world of drugs though, this stuff is right up my ally. I've been at it for months, and there has been no increase in tolerance, and I have not once considered smoking or using a needle or upping my dose. That just seems silly to me, like someone trying to abuse the medication and aiming for the overpowering experience of the drug itself. I'm through with getting high, that shit fucked me up. My goal is to be normal, which ironically involves getting a little high.