Dar, that was the point of this episode. Trust me, I don't spend much time defending doctors but most of the characters in this show, like real DOCTORS and especially residents, work 100 hour weeks including at least 3 nights a week on call. Residents almost inevitably find themselves working at inner city hospitals like the one represented in ER. Did anyone happen to notice the subplot of the 12-yr-old crack addict prostitute that the doctors and nurses tried so hard to secure a detox bed for and succeeded, only to find that her pimp had managed to get into the ER and cart her off because these places chronically lack adequate staff and security?

That guy was NOT a pain patient, he was OBVIOUSLY a drug addict. When I went to the ER after putting my back out and they released me at 1am with no treatment and a script for 8 5mg hydros and a list of the 8 24-hour pharmacies in my LARGE metropolitan area, did I start kick over a bench full of people in the waiting room? NO! Because I couldn't. Did I come back with a gun and demand a 150mg of demerol? Would you?

No, my GF and I drove an hour out of our way to the closest pharmacy to fill that prescription. Wouldn't you?

Unless we on here are claiming to be smarter than everyone else in America, it should be obvious to EVERYONE that the guy was a dope fiend.

The point of the episode was what I stated in bold above. And it is a legitimate point.