Below are articles on Addiction as well as on Improving Access to Opioids for Pain Patients
THE NATURE OF ADDICTION
If addiction is a moral failing, seek help from religious/spiritual leaders. If addiction is a disease, turn to doctors.
Understanding the true nature of addiction is essential to determining the proper response to the problem of addiction. Misunderstanding addiction could be WORSE than ignorance about addiction.
Why it Matters that Addiction is a Disease
OTHER ARTICLES
Why Do Methadone Clinics Have Bad Reputations?
IMPROVING ACCESS TO OPIOIDS FOR PAIN PATIENTS
Out of the Frying Pan – why efforts to curb the opioid crisis may be fueling it
Chronic Pain Patients – Collateral Damage in the War Against Opioids
The DEA’s Role in Depriving Patients of Pain Medication My apologies, but this article is rather long,
I was amazed to read your mission statement that says everything I have been “preaching” to people, including legislators, the CDC and the FDA (and more), for at least the past 2 years! Few doctors have this insight – or more accurately, some have it but aren’t willing to voice it!! Even the compassionate pain doctors have adopted the CDC verbiage to parrot to their patients because of the fear they have of the DEA, therefore, their patients across the board are force tapered to 90MME or less, despite the FDA and CDC issuing a clarification statement discouraging forced tapering, especially of legacy patients. It doesn’t matter what their diseases/issues are, their sex, size, genetics, etc. There is no reasoning with them at all – even those who know the facts but refuse to admit to it out loud due to sheer fear. It’s very sad and frustrating that in America, the greatest country in the world, patients are suffering and either committing suicide or turning to illicit street drugs and it’s not because they are addicted. It’s because they can no longer tolerate the daily intractable pain with no relief! Anti-opioid zealots and government agencies are outright lying about the statistics to make people believe that this crisis is due to the overprescribing of opioids. It should be illegal!! Their motivation is MONEY, and they are making a killing from these addiction drugs (used for chronic pain patients with real pain)! Our human rights have been ignored and the new way to deal with this by many doctors is to offer assisted suicide (where legal), and Buprinorphine or Suboxone is forced upon many patients, in addition to spinal steroid injections and spinal cord stimulators (SCS’s do help many patients but not 100% and they result in many complications – and in addition, they are very expensive so most patients can’t afford the out-of-pocket expense)! Thank you for being honest in sharing the facts.