[munk-a]

People generally say that over-prescription leads to harder opioid usage because it does. I have had co-workers familiar with the neurological effects of the drugs they've been given balk at it. I've also known community members who had injuries slide into the obscurity of addiction.

A very real factor of this crisis is the pain aversion, people working in dentistry have higher rates of depression and suicide due to the psychological effects of inflicting pain on people (unless the dentist is played by steve martin ofc) and it's a problem without clear solutions. Legalization of marijuana would probably help reduce the mild-moderate pain classes in a non-addictive manner, but for extreme pain there isn't a good solution.

Anyways... there are plenty of first-hand accounts and plenty of studies showing the connection here, please do a little research before posting unsupported claims.

[incadenza]

It's important to note that the epidemic that people refer to is the overdose epidemic, often labelled the opiate epidemic for whatever reason.

I haven't seen any evidence that actual rates of heroin abuse increasing year over year. Just wealthier people dying from poorly cut drugs at a more alarming rate.

This was the most recent report I could find: https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FRR1-2...

[loverofcode]

That is not true, first dentist have a higher suicide rate not because of the pain on people but because so many people hate to see them. It is never a pleasant experience. You also should be aware of the suicide rate in pain patients because their pain cannot be under control. this is a direct result of the war on drugs. the fentanyl and carfentanil coming from china are responsible. before these two were being imported at such high rates opioid deaths were 4,000 per year vs 400,000 for alcohol. Which at first was being blamed on fentanyl being prescribed legally, but was incorrect data. Check the numbers yourself at wonder cdc. attached is the screenshot form cdc data. https://imgur.com/a/fFBTe