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Physicians are under intense scrutiny because of concerns
over prescription drug diversion and abuse. At the same time,
they are also under pressure from patients and advocates to prescribe
adequate pain medication. It is a difficult balancing act and sometimes,
overzealous law enforcement can tip the scales.
For more information
click here.
The Cato Institute published this tremendous analysis
of pain management policy by Professor Ronald T. Libby of the
University of North Florida. Download a copy of
the full report, and also check out
this CSDP
public service ad which excerpts the Libby report.
A Michigan study confirms what many patients already know:
Pharmacies in minority and low-income areas are less
likely to carry sufficient supplies of pain medications.
Click here to read more about this
study on access to pain medication which was
published in the Journal of Pain in Oct. 2005.
Pain management:
where healthcare and drug control policies intersect.
Click here for more
about pain management, diversion, and related items.
Also check out
this new CSDP
public service ad on the federal war against physicians over
pain management.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist and his cabinet voted unanimously to grant pain patient Richard Paey a full pardon for his 2004 conviction on drug trafficking and possession charges. For more information, click here.
The re-trial of Doctor William Hurwitz came to an end in July 2007. The doctor's sentence was reduced to less than five years. He was originally given 25 years. For more information,
click here.
A federal judge is challenging the plea agreement entered into earlier in 2007 between prosecutors and Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of OxyContin. For more information, click
here.
The New York Times Magazine featured a cover story on pain management issues in their June 17, 2007 edition.
Click here to read the story in full.
Purdue Pharma, manufacturer of OxyContin, and three current and former executives were allowed to plead guilty in federal court to misleading the public about
Oxy's risks. For more information,
click here.
Federal re-trial of pain specialist Dr. William Hurwitz ends – some charges dismissed, acquittal on some charges but guilty verdicts on others. For more information
click here.
Commutation Urged After Appeal Fails
Chronic pain patient Richard Paey lost in the appeal of his sentence on drug charges and faces a mandatory minimum 25-year-sentence.
For more information
click here
.
DEA Issues Policy Statement On Pain Management
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a new policy statement on pain management and prescribing practices. For details,
click here.
Also, a full copy of the notice as published in the Federal Register is available by clicking
here.
The 4th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a new trial to Dr. William Hurwitz of Virginia. Dr. Hurwitz had been accused of drug trafficking for prescribing large quantities of narcotics to patients. For more information click here.
Rightwing talkshow host Rush Limbaugh reached a plea deal with prosecutors – charges to be dropped in 18 months if he completes treatment, avoids re-arrest. For more info,
click here.
One of the first physicians in the nation to be charged with the deaths of patients from narcotics abuse was found guilty of one count of manslaughter and five counts of narcotics trafficking in her retrial in Florida. Dr. Asuncion Luyao faces maximum 30 year prison term –
an appeal is planned.
Click here for more info.
First Annual Opioid Certification Program
Presented by the Opioid Management Society & the
Journal of Opioid Management, the conference will be held April 22-23, 2006, at The Conference Center at Harvard Medical, Boston, MA. To register, contact the
Opioid Management Society.
The cover story in Harvard Magazine's Nov-Dec 2005 issue
is "The Science of Hurt," by Kathleen Koman.
Download and read a
PDF copy of this tremendous article.
FDA, doctors win versus DEA on question of
final approval of new painkilling drugs.
Click to read more.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration worked with pain
management specialists to develop pain prescription guidelines
so that law enforcement could do its job and physicians could
do theirs. A month later,
DEA pulled the guidelines.
In a letter, 30 state attorneys general take DEA to task
over withdrawal of pain management prescription guidelines.
Check out this
public service ad
on the letter.
OxyContin has been the center of controversy
as pain management has moved to the front of
the public consciousness. Much of what's been
reported is exaggerated.
Click here for more news and information about
Oxy and pain management issues.
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"By demonizing physicians as drug dealers and
exaggerating the health risk of pain management,
the federal government has made
physicians scapegoats for the failed drug war.
Even worse, the Drug Enforcement
Administration's renewed war on pain
doctors has frightened many physicians out of
pain management altogether, exacerbating an
already serious health crisis - the widespread
undertreatment of intractable pain."
"Experts agree that tens of millions of Americans
suffer from undertreated or untreated
pain ... According to one 1999 survey, just
one in four pain patients received treatment
adequate to alleviate suffering."
"The medical evidence overwhelmingly
indicates that when administered properly,
opioid therapy rarely, if ever, results in 'accidental
addiction' or opioid abuse."
"Pain specialists make an important distinction
between patients who depend on opiates to
function normally - to get out of bed, tend to
household chores, and hold down jobs - and
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addicts who take drugs for euphoria, and
whose lifestyles deteriorate as a result of taking
opiates, instead of improving. The DEA
makes no such distinction."
"The relationship between a doctor and his
patient is crucial to the proper assessment and
treatment of the patient's condition. The
DEA's aggressive investigative procedure
poisons the doctor-patient relationship from
both sides."
"The DEA continues to lower its evidentiary
standards, making it nearly impossible for many
doctors to determine what is and isn’t permitted."
"Large quantities of narcotics routinely go
missing en route from manufacturers to wholesalers
and from wholesalers to retailers. The
DEA itself acknowledges this problem.
Given the poor job the DEA is doing of
monitoring the narcotics it's charged with
overseeing ... DEA's attempt to blame physicians
for the drugs' street availability seems
arbitrary, unjustified, and capricious."
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copyright © 2000-2010, Common Sense for Drug Policy
Kevin B. Zeese, President --
Mike Gray, Chairman --
Robert E. Field, Co-Chairman
-- Melvin R. Allen, Director --
Doug McVay, Director of Research & Editor
1377-C Spencer Ave., Lancaster, PA 17603
tel 717-299-0600 - fax 717-393-4953
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