I’m not saying that chronic pain isn’t real or shouldn’t be treated, but many of the abusers are “drug seeking” patients who go to different doctors to get prescriptions and many of the doctors are illegally prescribing the drugs. Opioids also end up on the black market and definitely they all aren’t bought legally.

Also, it is public knowledge that the government looked the other way and protected drug growers in South America in the 80s because it was more concerned with the Cold War.

The thing is while a worryingly large minority of addicts used their prescribed medication first (including not taking as directed) the majority still used it illicitly either through street sources or stealing from those with legitimate needs.

There is still an obvious empathy gap and double standard.

> There is still an obvious empathy gap and double standard.

Well, no, there isn't obviously one. You seem to be alluding the the crack epidemic and the Just Say No / DARE types.

No one was getting hooked on crack after being prescribed medicinal cocaine by their doctor.

It is an apples-to-oranges comparison.

A more apt one would be the methamphetamine epidemic that preceded the opi(ate|oid) epidemic. Plenty of moral panic in the news, precious few folks gave a damn about the redneck tweakers.

The government was actively supporting drug cartels during the Cold War. They were looking the other way as it was bought into the US.

Even if opioids are prescribed legally at first - abusers are getting it illegally later.

That's true, but sort of side stepping the issue. Why is it that the country's medical system was willing to feed addiction-level quantities of abusable chemicals into some communities and not others?

In any case, there are large quantities of illegal drugs feeding the "opioid" crisis as well, though. Fentanyl didn't happen in a vacuum, it was pushed at people having trouble getting oxycodone. And yet we don't hear talk on FOX about the horrors of the appalachian cartels bringing this garbage across the border.

> yet we don't hear talk on FOX about the horrors of the appalachian cartels bringing this garbage across the border.

Perhaps you should do some research on the methamphetamine crisis. Plenty of hand-wringing over tweaker shake-and-bake operations and rural labs.

Maybe hands were wrung, I won't dispute that. And yet not demands for public action like there were in the 80's about inner city drugs. No "war on meth" was ever declared. No huge increases in law enforcement funding arrived in the rural west. No steeper penalties for meth were ever passed that I'm aware of. No focus on three strikes legislation to "clean up Colorado". The media coverage was an illustrative example, the story is about decades of deeply unfair prosecution via law enforcement of what in other demographics is deemed a social ill.

But agreed: hands were wrung about meth.

> No "war on meth" was ever declared. No huge increases in law enforcement funding arrived in the rural west.

Half of my family goes back to Appalachia, used to very several times a year. I can tell you anecdotally that there very much was there, though I doubt anyone would say "War on Meth" since there's already the "War on Drugs." Legislations, penalties, etc. increased in that neck of the woods. I've had junkies in my family (meth, heroin, oxy, etc.) in and out of jail most of my life. Hell, one of my buddies is an old meth cook. Man never graduated high school, but if you talk to him about the chemistry you'd think he was a university graduate.

Hell, one time on my way to school we couldn't get out of the neighborhood because someone discovered a shake-and-bake setup and the police, (fire) HAZMAT trucks were blocking the entire road. Everyone had to call off work or school that day while they cleaned it up.

I don't mean to be needlessly curt, but if you think there is something magical about the opi(ate|oid) crisis it is because you weren't well aware of preceding ones.