In short:

• The leading cause of unnatural death in the US are Opioids now.
• Heroin alone kills more Americans than all gun homicides.
• In 2016 more Americans died from drugs than in Vietnam and Iraq wars combined.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/05/upshot/opioid-epidemic-drug-overdose-deaths-are-rising-faster-than-ever.html

"Drug overdoses have become the leading cause of death of Americans under 50, with two-thirds of those deaths from opioids. In 2016, 62,000 Americans died from overdoses and had killed more Americans in one year than both the wars in Vietnam and Iraq combined. By comparison, the figure was 16,000 in 2010, and 4,000 in 1999"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_epidemic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmDr_Vquc6A

Why did it increase so much?

I've had some rather powerful pain killers offered to me by doctors for various issues. Once I went in to see my (now former) doctor curious about my back (was consistently aching and stiff) and the man basically just prescribed me muscle relaxers and some rather serious painkillers.

I had mostly just been curious as to what the cause was, though, and took up various stretches as I didn't much feel like beginning a lifelong dependency on muscle relaxers and painkillers in my 20's. My back is much better these days and my new doctor agrees that the old one took a very lazy, irresponsible approach to it. There's definitely doctors out there, then, that will just throw prescriptions at the problem long before they might actually be necessary.

The main issue with opioids is that studies have shown they're not particularly addictive so long as you are indeed in serious pain when you take them (I can verify this after a couple major operations), but if the pain is subsiding and you're still taking them they suddenly become seriously addictive. Doctors have begun to prescribe less than they believe you'll need, then, to avoid that dangerous window where they're no longer necessary but you still have a few left, but the more irresponsible doctors will happily offer extra pain killers should you request them.

As I posted elsewhere:

Unfortunately, this sounds like it is a feel-good measure which will likely have little effect unless further action is taken. The two professionals quoted in the OP's link called these actions "very disappointing" and "pathetic" because of how little impact they actually have. Additionally, this comes just after the new budget cuts funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the agency within the Department of Health and Human Services by $400million.

(The professionals quoted were in NPR's article on this issue)

Well delivered speech. While I question the impacts we'll see (mainly due to certain administrations having budget cuts), I will say that I'm glad Trump dedicated significant time to the topic.

I've seen too many people lose their life because of it. Hopefully people can criticize Trump but still work with the plan on tackling this issue. At the end of the day, I'll always stick with the statement I said before his inauguration - I could hate him for 99% of his actions, but I'll support him for any good he does for the country.

For you and anyone else:

"What the U.S. Surgeon General calls "The Opioid Crisis" likely began with over-prescription of powerful opioid pain relievers in the 1990s, which led to them becoming the most prescribed class of medications in the United States. As of 2016 more than 289 million prescriptions were written for opioid drugs per year.^[19]:43In the late 1990s, many Americans were diagnosed with chronic pain, estimated to affect around 100 million people or a third of the U.S. population. This led to a push by drug companies and the federal government to expand the use of painkilling opioids.^[10] Between 1991 and 2011, painkiller prescriptions in the U.S. tripled from 76 million to 219 million per year. Among the most common opioids prescribed have been oxycodone(OxyContin and Percocet) and hydrocodone(Vicodin). With the increase in volume, potency of opioids also increased. By 2002, one in six drug users were being prescribed drugs more powerful than morphine; by 2012, the ratio had doubled to one-in-three.^[10]

Despite the increased use of painkillers, there has been no change in the amount of pain reported in the U.S.^[20][19] This has led to differing medical opinions, with some noting that there is little evidence that opioids are effective for chronic pain not caused by cancer.^[21]"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_epidemic

Opioids don't kill people, people do. A ban on opioids wouldn't be effective so it's best not to enforce any control whatsoever. Forbidding people to take opioids is against freedom and the constitution. Less government intervention! Donald is coming to take our opioids away!

Did I get everything?

Oh wait. The only way to stop a bad guy with opioids is a good guy with opioids!

It's disrespectful to talk about opioids right now. Now is not the time for discussion while everyone is still in mourning

The majortiy of opioids are pushed through government mandated health insurance. Gusn aren't prescribed via mandatory gun insurance.

"Between 1991 and 2011, the number of opioid prescriptions (selling under brand names like Vicodin, Oxycontin, and Percocet) supplied by American retail pharmacies increased from 76m to 219m."

https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/03/daily-chart-3

That is ridiculous. Doctors give out prescriptions, not the government. And a lot of doctors are paid by pharma companies to push even more opioids. How you are able to pin this on basic healthcare is beyond me. Your chart even fucking tells you that it's the pharma companies are pushing this shit.

If anything the government should regulate the fucking corruption of doctors by pharma bribes.