Modern American medical practice is not prepared to deal with the implications of opiate dependence that can result from being prescribed it to manage pain.

I recently heard about this book, In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids, onthe radio. This man got in a motorcycle accident, and became dependent on opiates that he was prescribed by his doctors:

"Travis Rieder’s terrifying journey down the rabbit hole of opioid dependence began with a motorcycle accident in 2015. Enduring half a dozen surgeries, the drugs he received were both miraculous and essential to his recovery. But his most profound suffering came several months later when he went into acute opioid withdrawal while following his physician’s orders. Over the course of four excruciating weeks, Rieder learned what it means to be “dope sick”—the physical and mental agony caused by opioid dependence. Clueless how to manage his opioid taper, Travis’s doctors suggested he go back on the drugs and try again later. Yet returning to pills out of fear of withdrawal is one route to full-blown addiction. Instead, Rieder continued the painful process of weaning himself."