Pain meds are almost a religion here. Being “pain free” is practically a Constitutional right. Once people get on the stuff, they won’t get off. And if they get off, they go right back to it.
We work with a local trailer park(Appalachian ghetto) and it is full of people on disability who hunt for drugs and money all day long. That’s all they do.
“...who hunt for drugs and money all day long”
I love that term “hunt” - its spot on. Every waking moment is spent beg/borrow/stealing for the next fix.
People always made fun of Nancy Reagan, but ‘just say no’ had a certain powerful simplicity. Drugs are awful.