It's a lot harder to overprescribe addictive drugs now. Much much harder. But your point remains. The problem wasn't so much painkillers after a major back surg

It's a lot harder to overprescribe addictive drugs now. Much much harder. But your point remains. The problem wasn't so much painkillers after a major back surgery - it was prescribing to treat chronic pain - which, in hindsight, is an obvious way to get people addicted. What isn't told is how insurance would only cover pills, not more expensive therapies (to deal with the underlying issues.) Now you have a patient who's in some pretty serious pain and you have an FDA approved pill to treat it. In a country that still has TV ads for medicine, the outcome isn't that surprising. It's also why opioid addiction is a strictly american phenomenon.