The "group" who started this anti-opiate thing has skin in the game. Google Andrew Kolodney and Suboxone. Most of the people deciding this stuff have monetary reasons for their crusade and are not pain doctors who went to school for their specialty. Chronic pain people aren't hooked, less than 1% get addicted or have withdrawal symptoms when forced off their meds. I went from 250 mcg Fentanyl patch to none, all it did was make me have more health issues, less sleep, more pain, less abled, more isolated and broke from buying dispo weed to try to replace the help that the Rx gave me, it was covered by insurance. In the 5 years since the 2016 CDC's misapplied guidelines went into effect overdose deaths from heroin and illicit fentanyl have increased. It was never the pills. Blaming ODs on pills is like blaming gun violence on pills - both examples are inaccurate. Politicians don't mind mj being legal, it brings in tax money to their states, and they invest in the industry. Big pharma is like the mob, they won't lose money, they just increase prices. Back on a small pain patch, I can attest to the price increase.