From what I've read, Bitcoin now charges high transaction fee and long transaction wait time so it can't presently be used:
a) for a conversion from Bitcoin to cash?
or b) purchases using Bitcoin?

If you're referring a conversion from bitcoin to cash, there's some exchanges that regulates P2P. It helps you to convert your cryptocurrency to any fiat, also, there would be an escrow for the transaction you'll do for the safety of your funds. It's still the same for P2P if you purchase bitcoin on the exchange platform and Binance is an example for this.