Welcome to bluelight Onegoodone79.
There are indeed a lot of drug users on this site, dedicated as it is to responsible drug use, and harm reduction for those less responsible.
We probably disagree about "only take medication if you need to", mainly the "need to" part. One person's needs are often considered more important or worthy than another's, for no logical reason. I think "feeling better or getting high" is a human need.
But I agree that prescription painkiller abuse can be a problem. Mainly because of moralists who think it's the worst crime ever to enjoy medication, the police state, misleading marketing by drug manufacturers, and a media that continues to conflate two separate but linked phenomena.
A lot of the people dying are using black market drugs that have been adulterated with fentanyl. The drugs have "hot shots" of too much fentanyl, and that is a direct effect of assholes who think they can safely mix fentanyl powders at home with their kitchen scales.
And that market exists because of the police state and the incentives it creates.
And the police state exists because of moralists who know that their vices are better than other people's vices, and the only cure for them is Jesus or prison.
I should archive/close this, but on the off chance you come back, seems fair to let you respond, and if you do I'll move these posts.