If I may ...
Well, I'm sure the doctors were getting some kind of kick-backs. Been to many a doctor's office when it just so happened a pharmaceutical rep was at an office. (Not known if it was for the scripting of opioid meds). They would bring all kinds of breakfast foods, lunch foods, and other valued goodies/trinkets, depending on the time of arrival, for the staff to enjoy while chatting with the docs. I'm talking whole layouts filling up a long table. (And pharmaceutical reps still follow this practice pushing the latest and greatest advertised drugs at doctors offices). Now, if you're a, not-in-pain, user of heroin, or other opioids, and are running low on money, you might go see a doctor for some phantom pain to get some meds at a really great price. Free if on medicaid, cheaper if you're on a plan. Or, you're a low level wanna dealer looking, or just looking to make an extra buck or two, that once had be on pain management, and not needing it any more, managed to convince the doc you are still in need. Then turn around and sell by the pill. Now, I'd imagine that that is a very, very, low percentage of the overall national mis-prescribing of these type of drugs. But like everything the government wants to control, blows it way out of proportion to, "scare", people. For the purpose of seeking more funding, down to local Sheriffs, for the never ending, "war on drugs". Or because the sale of said drugs are cutting into other, 'quietly supported and looked the other way', sales of competing illegal drugs.
However, as Auntie Biache relates. Her story resonates with Larry Flynt after he was shot. He was in constant pain and paid his doctor well for providing him with the needed pain medication to relive that pain. However his wife, Althea started taking his drugs too, and developed an addiction. Once he had a pioneering operation, that forever stopped his pain, he stopped taking them. Didn't need them, and didn't want them anymore. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case for Althea. Not saying her spouse is addicted to her meds, just that she needs them to function properly because of constant pain. And I would wager, that if she wasn't in pain anymore, most likely would stop taking, and wouldn't need, them anymore either.
Personally, whenever I'm prescribed, "good", pain control meds, I try to not use them all so I'll have some for later, when, needed for other bad pain, uses. I will not take NSAIDS because as the NIH says, "NSAIDs exhibit a broad spectrum of liver damage ranging from asymptomatic, transient, hyper-transaminasemia to fulminant hepatic failure." And I especially avoid not taking acetaminophen. A well known liver damage inducing drug. I'd rather suffer from a short term bout of constipation taking an opioid than worry if I'm possibly destroying my liver.
Too many are hopping onto this, 'anti-opioid bandwagon'. But there will be some point in the future where they may truly need pain relief that these type of drugs provide, and they won't be there for them. It will be a bad time for them, and for everyone else that would need them, because of their actions today.
