I think you are spot on in your assessment, ribit. I too believe a lot of these doctors prescribe oxy or hydrocodone simply to get these people out of their offices. And then, there are the doctors who want a kickback because they know their "patient" is going to sell the prescribed drugs out on the street.
The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted. ~ D.H. Lawrence