In general I agree with your sentiment, but not to the extent that you do. 40 people a day die from prescription painkiller overdoses. They are, in fact, addict

In general I agree with your sentiment, but not to the extent that you do. 40 people a day die from prescription painkiller overdoses. They are, in fact, addictive. And they can and will kill you if abused. (http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20111101/40-us-deaths-a-day-from-prescription-painkillers http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/news/20111101/4...) I'm very much a libertarian kind of guy and part of me wants to say "well so, its their life, let them do what they want". But these deaths have serious societal repercussions: the removal of an otherwise productive body and the orphaning of children. I don't like shades of gray, but this seems like the government overreacting to a problem. I don't think people should go to jail because of substance abuse, I do think that people in legitimate pain deserve to be relieved from that pain, but I also think the government has a legitimate role in regulating these drugs.