DEA policy leaves patients with little choice

The Agitator points us to an excellent article on the DEA's war on pain management doctors. Ronald Fraser of the DKT Liberty Project examines the DEA's dunderheaded program to keep honest citizens from obtaining adequate pain relief.

In March 2004, DEA administrator Karen Tandy told Congress her drug warriors have "been successful in addressing OxyContin diversion as evidenced by a reduction in the rate of increase of OxyContin prescriptions being written and a leveling-off of OxyContin sales."

As Fraser notes, this is an odd measure of progress since the experts estimate 40% of legitimate patients don't receive adequate medication. Essentially this proves that the DEA scared the doctors out of the practice but shows no effect on the black market in the drug which by any practical measure will have increased because people in pain have no choice but to go to the black market to obtain relief. Or they could suffer.

Thanks to the DEA, Orient predicts, "if you have an operation or an acute injury, chances are your doctor will order adequate pain medication. But if you are one of the millions with chronic, intractable, so-called benign pain, you may be told to learn to live with it."

Little wonder suicide rates among this group of patients are up.