I voted no but the question is partially true because the need for painkillers is derived from the fact that the medical profession hasn't found a way to adequately treat pain. Under the theory of your question they can also be blamed for creating the suicide epidemic, people in pain commit suicide. Also under this theory you can blame the car manufacturers for the epidemic of auto theft because they won't harden their steering columns. The more cars stolen, the more cars sold. All the pharmaceutical companies need to do is develop a painkiller that isn't addictive. They make the same money but people aren't addicted. To suggest that they intended the problem or refuse to change the status quo to keep people addicted I think is bad logic.

Growing up i can recall several popular songs glorifying pills heroin etc, I think its more of a culture thing but im sure big pharm companys love making money off of peoples addictions

However I feel that it is perpetuated by people who don't think for themselves and blindly take what meds they are given without checking the internet for side effects, including addiction potential.

[theatlantic.com]
Here is the link to a very interesting and well researched article about the pharma that first developed Oxy

It was caused by politicians. Big pharma gets no benefit having its best seller ripped away. In fact my political officials actually accused me of WORKING for big pharma when I explained why its bad to take away opioids from chronic many pain patients. doctors are upset about this war because it is causing people to kill themselves because their suffering is too great and they can't do anything about it.

This is a political ploy.

Nixon created the war on drugs to distract the people and get rid of his criticisers at the same time. His aid admitted this. The entire war on drugs in the 70s was a political move to destroy his domestic enemies.

Trump and his cronies want to kill off "the poor people" and the best way to do that is to take away their health care and the chronic pain sufferers medicine and let them kill themselves so that they don't have to be blamed.

This is all a political ploy and I'm livid.

The Pharma companies know when doctors order too many pain killers for the size of their practice or their community.

I have to say yes, in that they really exacerbated the problem. With the highly addictive nature of opiates a lot more people got hooked because pain killers are basically legal and don’t carry the stigma attached to black market opiates like heroin. I think a lot of people had no issues doing prescription opiates but would have not ever considered drugs like heroin.

That is an over simplification of the whole problem at best. One, to say that those are the only causes to the opiod epidemic is a pretty bold statement. I think a lot of factors weigh into why there is an opiod crisis at all. Second, the statement clumps together all medical professionals and pharmaceutical companies into the category of being the cause to the problem. I would think many many more medical professionals tread carefully when using oxycodone, morphine, methadone, etc or at least work towards preventing opiate addiction. I can't really speak for sure on pharmaceutical companies. I think some of the companies are looking out for people and their health, but some are definitely taking advantage of people to increase profits. Getting people addicted to drugs will certainly be financially beneficial to pharmaceutical companies. I don't know much on how companies would effect the crisis, but I imagine they would have a much bigger impact on stoking the flames than the doctors and other medical professionals would. Just my two cents.

To some extent the system failed, and pharmaceutical companies did know what was happenign and did nothign to stop it, in order to have higher profits.

However, I think drug addiction increases is mostly a result of cultural economic circumstances and pressures where people are under constant stress/strain and seek an "escape" if only. temporary.

The Rolling Stones sang a song about it...

I voted no. There's something in our brains which seems almost EVOLVED for the experience of ''high.'' These drugs are very important for severe pain. Addiction and misuse are not the fault of doctors and pharmaceutical companies...UNTIL doctors over-prescribe.

Facilitated, not created.

That and the reason people need to use them. Are they escaping from their lives? If they are, then why?

There are two parts, well three really. Supply, distribution, and of course demand. For so many people, the pharmaceutical end of this provides effective pain relief, so it's not a crisis for those guys, it's a really good thing. I don't know why heroin should be blamed on medical professionals and the pharmaceutical corps either. To the extent that pain relief generates revenue for those folks, there is probably an overprescription issue, but someone has to get hooked too, and a lot of times that is not a conscious decision. I voted no.

Oversimplified I think. There are many reasons for the culmination of the epidemic but I think those industries as a whole certainly played a part in it.