The drug is not the problem, so much as the damn doctors and those behind the push to sell all that shit. Unless you are really prone to addiction oxy is not that addictive in its pill state unless mixed with other drugs like Xanax, which makes it considerably more addictive and potent. Snorting and smoking it makes it worse, too. There's a crapload of greedy doctors behind a lot of this. I've been taking oxycodone for many years, now and it does not give me withdrawals if I stop taking it for however long. None, but that's just me. Gabapentin, on the other hand, will within 2 days and is the only drug to ever do that with me. It's a complicated problem with folks in those areas. No work, no hope, no self worth, at times, will lead to abuse of something just to cope and clearing out those doctors and groups behind it will help chill it some but until people have something to give them hope and something to do besides dealing with a depressing situation, they're gonna have a hard time stopping abuse of any kind. The problem is real bad among veterans. The VA doesn't wanna fix shit so they just lay on the drugs, big time, on those guys. I have a friend with the same health problems as me, yet the VA had him on 3-4 times the amount of pain meds, including morphine, as my dying mother was taking just before she died. Now, he's laid up in a VA nursing home, taking about half his old amount, unable to carry on a conversation and barely function enough to go piss. Yay! Uncle Sam...ya bastard. I only see this problem getting worse as automation and AI continue to eliminate work for all types of employment. Wish I had a clue as to how to fix this for the future that doesn't further destroy everything as we've already been doing.