hospitals and doctors are trying to HELP by not prescribing so many of these drugs...
in case you haven't noticed, there is an epidemic of legal drug use, and it also involves criminal activity when these people can't get it thru the doc...
not to mention when the oxy's or hydros are gone, these people turn to heroin....we had three young people in my middle size city die in separate incidents from heroin overdose.....all in one night...
Pain medication, when used properly, is very useful. I should know — it was prescribed to me after my back surgery. And no, I didn't become addicted and interestingly I ended with several bottles of unused pain meds because I stopped using it when I had recovered. So, see it does work and it is a useful tool.