The US government half-assed it. They pulled the rug out from under a huge population, and then acted surprised when they fell over. It was clearly being abused

The US government half-assed it. They pulled the rug out from under a huge population, and then acted surprised when they fell over. It was clearly being abused, and needed to be better controlled, but in making it impossible to prescribe rather quickly, and to not provide any help to the addicted, the US government created this mess. Where are the massive social programs to get users off opiates, legal or illegal. Where's the bridge to getting better, a helping hand to get over the hump? The rich can afford to take a couple months off in a resort in a tropical location, and then resume their now drug-free lives. The poor get no such luxury. They get fired, and then lose housing, and become homeless. Which doesn't lead to a good mental state, so they unsurprisingly turn to drugs even harder than before. It was viscous and punitive to end the prescription of oxycontin that way, and it's resulted in problems that could largely have been avoided. But America hates the poor, so they must be punished for doing bad things.