Why opioids are such an American problem [View all]

[donotpissoffacow]

In two years, the town of Kermit in West Virginia received almost nine million opioid pills, according to a congressional committee.
Just 400 people live in Kermit.
...
Unlike most European countries, the US does not have universal healthcare paid for by taxes.
Instead, Americans must get their own insurance - usually via an employer or the government.
...
"Most insurance, especially for poor people, won't pay for anything but a pill,"
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For the past four years, the US government has published the amounts paid by drug and device companies to doctors and teaching hospitals.
The total in 2016 was more than $8bn. More than 630,000 physicians had payment records.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-41701718

Question?
Has anyone else noticed we always have a drug crisis whenever Republicans are in the White House? Reefer Madness may mess with that anecdotal hypothesis.