Help In These Times raise $10,000 in three weeks! Donate now to support original and incisive journalism!

More Drugs, Please

By Terry J. Allen

Few actions so perfectly combine stupidity and cruelty as denying pain relief to the dying because narcotics can be addictive. While policy makers squander billions on an unwinnable war on illicit drugs, each year tens of millions of people around the world, including 4.8 million cancer patients and 1.4 million end-stage HIV/AIDS patients, suffer needlessly because they cannot get pain-relieving narcotics.… return to article

  • subscribe to print magazine

  • Zoom OutZoom In Reader Comments (1)

    Page 1 of 1 pages

    There are 70,000,00 non-cancer and non- HIV patients suffering from chronic pain in the U.S.  Their lives are hell.  Some of them are confined to bed.  Some of them commit suicide because their pain is unbearable.

    Why are they invisible?  Why do they have to suffer so greatly?  It’s because the DEA has frightened cowardly doctors so much that the doctors would rather let chronic pain patients die than treat them.

    Exaggeration?  Wait until you or someone you love becomes a chronic pain patient.  You will be regarded as a criminal.  You will have to submit to random urine testing.  Most doctors will prescribe useless and dangerous drugs instead of the safe opiods that you need.  They will also refer you for physical therapy that makes your pain even worse.  They will drop you as a patient and they can do so without giving any reason.

    Good luck.  You’ll need it.

    United States Posted by tabt on Jul 4, 2009 at 5:10 PM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

  • register a new account »Posting Security

    To participate in our forums, please register for a free account.
     

    Retreive lost password »

Article Appeared in this Issue

Full contents
Past issues

Popular Discussions