https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/06/24/a-doctor-prescribed-so-many-painkillers-shes-been-charged-with-murdering-her-patients-authorities-say/?utm_term=.9aeda8f47322 Insane.
I'm not shocked at all. We are a country of drug addicts. https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates Here's a fun one - add together the number of deaths from heroin AND cocaine last year. That number is still less than those that died as a result of a DOCTOR-prescribed pain medication. I don't mean to blame the victims here, but the prescriptions aren't getting filled by themselves. People should know better.
At one time I had a doc giving me 100 Norcos (two vicodines in one pill) a month for a MA injury. I finally stopped taking the damn things. After a while, they stopped working.
After a hernia operation the surgeon gave me a prescription for hydrocodone which was mostly acetaminophen along with some opiate derivative. I didn't have much pain and the hydrocodone had no noticeable effect but I finished it believing it helped control inflammation. The surgeon then told me it did nothing for inflammation. Useless at that dosage. I didn't even feel mellow.