Paracetamol is dangerous in overdose, and the therapeutic dose is pretty close to the overdose amount. The therapeutic index is approx 10.

Compare that to morphine, which has a therapeutic index of about 70.

(although the therapeutic index is tricky to use because of dose response curves)

We know that paracetamol is commonly used in both accidental and deliberate overdose. And this is true in countries that don't have the opioid crisis, and it was true in the US before the opioid crisis.

> It causes problems because people are addicted to opioid drugs that are typically combined with acetaminophen,

This is part of the problem, yes. But it's incomplete. We know that paracetamol alone causes problems for the liver even with small overdosing. https://britishlivertrust.org.uk/researchers-shed-new-light-...