“In late January 2018, the news broke that musician Tom Petty, who died in 2017, lost his life to an accidental overdose. 

Petty was recovering from hip surgery and had been given a large prescription for painkillers. Under normal circumstances, that would be totally appropriate: Hip surgery is major, just like a C-section or back surgery. However, Petty was very open about the fact that he had serious problems with substance use. He’d been in rehab multiple times. A doctor nevertheless decided to hand him a prescription for painkillers anyway, because Petty’s history didn’t cancel his need for painkillers or create stricter prescription guidelines. It’s the perfect setup for an overdose, and that’s exactly what happened. That’s a normalized outcome: According to a 2016 study, 91 present of overdose survivors were still able to get another prescription for opioids. That means that doctors, who should be treating patients according to their needs, are blatantly disregarding their needs, wishes, and personal safety. Whether it’s based on ignorance or apathy, the outcome is the same. It’s killing us.”  - Ryan Hampton, “American Fix