If physicians follow the prescribing guidelines set through consultation with their own community, there should be no problem.

If physicians & pharmacists appropriately implemented the principles of the Patch for Patch protocol established in Ontario (plus the mandatory implementation criteria that Ontario unfortunately neglected)

If insurance companies paid, & paid appropriately, for alternative pain relief, such as acupuncture, physio, AND if physicians were educated & trained in how & when to prescribe those rather than medication.

If we had a national prescription monitoring system.

If physicians were even trained in how to recognize & address early signs of substance dependence.

If physicians' performance was monitored & measured for patient outcomes, rather than just adherence to financial criteria.

These are the things "the system" ought to be dealing with. And isn't.

That at least would address the 'legal' opioid issue.

The smuggled powder from China? Whole other issue.