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DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fisk

By Jeralyn, Section Crime Policy
Posted on Mon May 16, 2005 at 07:45:45 PM EST
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The DEA has been conducting a war on doctors who prescribe pain medication. Last month, Libertarian Blogger and Cato Policy Analyst Radley Balko wrote a column about it, Bush Should Feel Doctors' Pain. It got picked up by several newspapers, including a small one in York, PA>

DEA Administrator Karen Tandy took the time to write the York, PA paper criticizing Radley's column.

Radley now fisks Tandy's letter, point by point, finding it rife with errors and misrepresentations.

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    DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fisk | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Well done Radley. The whole damn drug war is a house of cards built on lies.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Blaghdaddy just wonders where the DEA stands on Plush Limbaugh's "Doctor-Shopping" escapades...strange silence on that quarter, no?

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#3)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Does my heart good to see TL linking to libertarian content. I was burning a .ppt file to CD for my wife this morning. The presentation was about managing chronic pain for some disorder or other. The title slide listed four major concerns for the treating physician; the first three were patient concerns (narcotic addiction, etc.), while the last point was fear of prosecution for over prescribing narcotics. Tandy is absolutely full of $hit claiming the DEA’s actions don’t compromise quality of care.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Ya know.... I got a tooth pulled last week and will never believe a dentist again who sais "you might experience slight discomfort for a few days - take some Tylenol or Advil". Well today is the first day I haven't experienced nasty, debilitating mouth pain. To the point where I was calling up friens to bum Percocets off of them. I haven't eaten anything solid for seven days because everytime I bite on that side I experience a spike in pain that lasts about an hour. So, I've been a raving b*tch for a week, which 10 Percs would have provided me relief from said cause. The six or seven pounds I've lost are a bonus I would have forfeited! My question: Why, oh why don't doctors care about pain? Why oh why do I get treated/feel like a drug addict when I ask for relief from pain. How many other upstanding citizens are out there taking pain medication they don't even know what it is because they obtained it through non-"official" channels??? Go F*ck yourself Sensenbrenner. I feel like inflicting a little pain on you and see how you do on 3 Motrin every 4 to 6 hours.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    The government (whatever that is anymore) could care less about you. Just keep paying your taxes, and they'll 'feel your pain' then. Don't pay your taxes and you will feel pain.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Where's the drug for Government inflicted pain???

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#8)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Where's the drug for Government inflicted pain???
    Here you go.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Y'all are seeing the wrong doctor's, I tweaked my back, went in to see if whether I had injured or just hurt myself and my doctor practically begged me to take an oxyc script. I turned him down b/c I honestly didn't think it was warranted (that pain killers just make me sleepy, no high involved). I guess it just depends on the doc.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#10)
    by SeeEmDee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:08 PM EST
    Now all the War on Drugs supporters, those with their DARE stickers proudly festooning their minivans, supporting the incarceration of the non-violent...they, now laid up with intractable, undertreated pain caused by illness, injury, or surgery can keep telling themselves in their self-righteous agony: "It's for the chil-dren, it's for the (terrible groan) chil-dren, it's for the (anguished scream) CHIL-DREN!" Welcome to the world of 'unintended consequences'...otherwise known more simply as payback. This is what comes of using the means of The State to persecute others; sooner or later, it comes back to bite you. As anyone receiving insufficient pain meds can thank the taxpayer funded War on Drugs for their misery.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:09 PM EST
    PW - checked out your cure. Sounds great except I don't believe that a totally free market economy ensures prosperity for all - I think it ensures the obliteration of the middle class. But you know that I harbor libertarian sympathies in my heart, PW. We'll talk more about this some other time, but thanks.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:10 PM EST
    As one who works in the medical profession, non of you were talking about chronic pain. Your issues call for seeking new care providers as fozz179 said. Before going out and buying pain meds on the street or intranet, be sure you know the reason why Tylenol with Cod. was prescribed for a heria repair vs Vicodin. There could have been some real valid reasons behind that choice. I could give you several reasons why, depending on the location of the hernia and the type of surgical repair. You could have done more harm then good. Be careful. Lastly, addiction to perscription drugs is a real problem, but it is one that varies from person to person and their level of tolerance to a drug. This has nothing to do with past drug use either. I have seen acutely ill children in my unit require such large amounts of narcotics to control their pain that the amount required within one weeks time could be enough to put all of us out, and this is for acute pain, not chronic. It is absolute torture weaning these kids off these narcotics...worse then the pain that it was prescribed for. This is why many doctors are cautious in the amount prescribed. One week of watching this torturous weening process would be enough for any of you to understand. I've yet to see a doctor afraid of prescribing pain meds for legal reasons. State enforced drug programs for medical professionals are over-flowing. I'd be willing to bet that illegal sales and prescriptions are all over the place. Don't know for sure though.

    Re: DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fi (none / 0) (#13)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:10 PM EST
    “As one who works in the medical profession, non of you were talking about chronic pain. … I've yet to see a doctor afraid of prescribing pain meds for legal reasons.” So you don’t have to waste your time I’ll repost it “The presentation was about managing chronic pain … the last point was fear of prosecution for over prescribing narcotics.” My wife and apparently many of her colleagues are concerned about coming to the attention of the DEA. She is very busy and resents the added stress and time needed to ferret out drug seekers. When the consequence of a few bad calls is jail time you bet she errors on the side of caution, the result being many miserable folks. She privately wishes that a prescription were simply a shopping list, not a permission slip. Just one more way the paternalistic mandate of the feds screws us all for the bad choices/character of a few.

    DEA vs. Pain Doctors: Point, Counterpoint, Fisk | 12 comments (12 topical)