Yup that's capitalism, there are pros and cons. Tara Patrick used the system to her advantage. She was too hot to stay contracted to Vivid Videos and able to forecast the future.
Amazing how opportunity to make money is treated as "expoitation" just because there are a few junkies tossed into the mix. Slap some makeup on Jenni Lee and put her in high heels, she's still beautiful. Like someone else said, these are broken people already. If she had become a janitor instead of a pornstar she'd still end up as a junkie living under a bridge.
The reality is that porn in all its forms - porn industry, webcamming, amateur/social media - is making many women independently wealthy on their own terms (ditto for escorting). Nobody is forced to do it. They choose to because of the big payoff. Tons of porn actresses have hundreds of thousands of social media followers, make money from porn, social media ads, stripping, and escorting where they can charge a premium. There are thousands more no-name Janes on webcam making a good salary (more than what they could dream of working a 9-to-5) all the way up to multi-millionaire status. They make much more than their average joe fan.
These are all Pros, none of them are Cons. We're blessed to live in the free world where you can earn whatever you want in whatever legal way you want. Non-junkies are killing it, and good for them.
