Who Is Responsible for the Pain-Pill Epidemic?

Published in The New Yorker on November 12, 2013

https://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/who-is-responsible-for-the-pain-pill-epidemic

The pain-pill epidemic didn’t happen by accident. It grew out of medical culture, industry pressure, and a system that rewarded prescribing over restraint. Doctors, patients, regulators, and drugmakers all played a role in normalizing long-term narcotics for chronic pain despite thin evidence and mounting harms. Reckoning with responsibility is essential to prevent well-intended care from continuing to cause lasting damage.