"Painkiller" is a textbook example of a show clearly meant to sway public perceptions on a critical public health issue — even if that means lying to viewers along the way.
Purdue
“The opioid epidemic” has triggered an extreme governmental reaction. While blaming legitimate manufacturers, curbing pain meds is the government’s go-to approach -- to the horror of those who legitimately need pain relief. Could the government have curtailed the problem from the get-go, and were they just asleep at the helm? Could present measures be a diversionary tactic?