Modern American medicine goes very heavily towards surgeries and drugs.
Bone fractures and organ damage frequently are treated with incisions, screws, rods, plates, sutures, etc. The resulting pain does require some sort of pain medicine for awhile.
Where the current medicine falls short is getting people off the drugs ASAP after the surgeries. Off the drugs before physical/mental addiction takes hold.
The addiction takes hold quickly, and the patient feels physical and mental discomfort if the dosage is withheld. (notice how smokers need to have a smoke, so quickly and so regularly? They are relieving the discomfort of withdrawal from their drug of choice, nicotine)
My very first contact for AA was a priest, with 5 years sober at the time. He introduced me to AA, and introduced my wife and I to a couple whereby the guy had 5 years sober. He became my first AA friend.
The priest later left the ministry, to become a ful time professional in the substance treatment/recovery field (MS degree in psychology; dual diagnosis-addiction+mental illness).
There is a great deal of distance between talking through one's rear end, and actually doing something.
This is one subject which does not have easy answers. The priest died sober. My first friend is nearing 29 years sober, and I am nearing 24 years sober.
Addicts and alcoholics have things in common. Honestly many would say their drug of choice is "more."
Many will claim the addict/alcoholic started ut mentally ill. I contend most became mentally ill from using mind-altering substances.
Now let the moral posturing and virtue signaling begin about addictions, from people that know little or nothing about the complexities thereof.
