I attended UT pharmacy school around the turn of the century. As far as I know it has been a top 4 school since that time. We were taught that addiction to opioids would not happen when the meds are used correctly, as prescribed, for legitimate pain. As students, no one challenged our highly esteemed faculty on this point. In hindsight it was clearly bullshit and i’ve read a few things implicating the Purdue folks in pushing that false narrative.
the complicity in this crisis runs deep on so many levels. Lots of pharmacists weren’t questioning these prescriptions, or worse, were partnering with dirty MDs and cranking them out and making $$$., those of us who did question the RXs were chastised by MDs for questioning them and wasting their precious time.
To me, the physicians that enabled their patients have the highest level of responsibility. They are the primary point in the process where access to opioids is granted. I tried to stop patients from getting early refills dozens of not hundreds of times. But 90% of the time I would call the MD and they would say the patient needed it, so I would document the conversation and fill it. Even when I had proof the patients were using multiple doctors and pharmacies. They did not care.