I think calling current thoughts around opioids a "moral panic" is ridiculous.

Much of today's response to opioids is an actual panic given that there is a real, ongoing epidemic of opioid abuse that is killing tens of thousands of people. The number of deaths by opioids more than doubled in 2016 compared to 2015.

I was around in the 80s, and this isn't just some "cyclical response". Take a look at any of graphs of opioid deaths or overdoses - there is no cycle, just something that is shooting up and up and up.