$$$. More death sure, but more importantly, more $$$. Yay.

But we also live in a shit hole country where a vulgar, demented, painted clown dresses down the preeminent infectious disease expert in press briefings and steals more money in a month than this sick, twisted society deems a lifetime of research, discovery and expertise in saving lives is worth.

Until a fucker like Trump is making a living hustling 12 'gigs' and sofa surfing at friends' places to save $$$, then the drug companies are only a small part of a systemically violent system. That violence is manifest more frequently against minorities and more viscerally in policing, but make no mistake, it is endemic to this "society" and if you doubt THAT...take a good hard look at Portland this week.

Drug companies, insurance companies, banks and hedge fund managers combine with the oil cartels and politicians to rig EVERYTHING against earning a living and to reward cronyism and graft at every turn...

This has been a constant problem since WWI and the medical profession has still failed to address it.

There is information at the CDC on how to do drug tapers, but either doctors haven't read it or they're terrified the DEA will pull their licenses if they continue to prescribe opiates so their patients can taper them down safely.

People who have had every reason in the world to be on opiates for several weeks have two options: run out of the pills and go through a terrifying withdrawal period that can last weeks, or go to street drugs so they can still manage to function every day.

Clearly, this is not working. Most people the DEA views as addicts are not addicts, they're dependent and don't know how to manage slow withdrawal.

End the drug war. Use those billions to set up specialty clinics for people who want to get off the drugs to do it safely, inpatient and outpatient. Give the true addicts a clean and predictable supply to cut out the criminals and destroy the black market. It's time to do things like this. We have to do things like this, the stupidity piled on top of stupidity called the war on drugs hasn't worked and has killed too many people and ruined too many lives.