[A. Pole]

Now the question is .. why in the heck are doctors prescribing OxyContin???

Because this and other derivatives of opium relieve strong or sometimes terrible pain. Opium and poppies extracts were used for thousand of years and the world did not end because of that.

But neo-puritans prefer their fellow human beings rather to suffer the torture of pain than risking someone can derive a forbidden pleasure from a drug. Same with marijuana - neo-puritans rather will see millions of people in jail and businesses ruined than letting people get high or smoke tobacco. If it were up to the neo-puritans would Prohibition would be still there.

[Mo1]

But neo-puritans

Oh Goodie .. A new name to be called

[livius]

Oh, please, that's ridiculous. Heroin and cocaine were 19th century derivatives - at the dawn of chemistry - from two rather low level drugs, coca and opium. Coca never has a very strong effect; opium does, but it takes a while to get addicted (like alcohol).

Go back to coca and opium and we can talk. But first get rid of heroin and cocaine.