The harsh fact is physicians are part of the problem. The largest physician professional organization created an opiod task force about 5 years ago to address the crisis by advocating for major changes both institutionally and practices.
"In the late 1990s, pharmaceutical companies reassured the medical community that patients would not become addicted to prescription opioid pain relievers, and healthcare providers began to prescribe them at greater rates. This subsequently led to widespread diversion and misuse of these medications before it became clear that these medications could indeed be highly addictive"
This is an exerpt from the National Institutes of Health, one of our nation's most prestigious research agency.
The full text is here: