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Debunking The Myths

Common sense in pain management -- read Chronic Pain & Opioids: Debunking the Myths, by Frank B. Fisher, MD -- also available in PDF. And check out this public service ad based on Debunking the Myths.


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.


Excerpts from Cato Institute Analysis*:

"The government is waging an aggressive, intemperate, unjustified war on pain doctors."

"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

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."

Common Sense for Drug Policy
www.CommonSenseDrugPolicy.org, www.DrugWarFacts.org

H. Michael Gray, Chair; Robert E. Field, Co-Chair
info@csdp.org

* "Treating Doctors as Drug Dealers: The DEA's War on Prescription Painkillers" by Professor Ronald T. Libby, June 16, 2005.
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa545.pdf

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