Reason.tv: Will The Feds Ban Your Pain Meds?
by Nick GillespieWhat if you were injured and developed severe pain that wouldn’t go away? Would your government let you take the kind of pain medication you need? If federal officials follow the recommendation of a Food and Drug Administration panel, many of the most effective prescription painkillers—including Vicodin, Percocet, and countless generics—would be banned.
Scott Gardner says that kind of a move would be “intensely cruel.”
“I took Vicodin for three years,” says Gardner. “I needed it. It got me through a very tough period of my life.” The tough period began after a cycling accident shattered the left side of his body. After eight surgeries and countless hours of physical therapy, Gardner’s once active life is now filled with limitations. He suffers from chronic pain that prevents him from sleeping more than a few hours at a time, and yet his pain today is nothing compared to the agonizing days and months following his accident.
“When there’s nothing but pain, there’s no reason to live,” says Gardner. “There were times where the only way I could stay sane and civil was because I could take painkillers.”
The fear of addiction and abuse already makes many suspicious of pain medication. Media reports about celebrities like Rush Limbaugh or Matthew Perry suggest that it’s common for people to become addicted to medications they once took for legitimate medical conditions. And countless public service announcements remind us of the dangers of prescription drug abuse.
Now the old fear of prescription drug abuse takes a new twist. The FDA panel is targeting drugs like Vicodin and Percocet because they contain acetaminophen, a popular painkiller also found in many over-the-counter drugs. Panel members warn that some Americans ingest too much acetaminophen, and overdoses can lead to liver damage, even death.
But maybe the FDA panel isn’t putting this threat into context. After all, mundane threats like falling down stairs claim more lives than acetaminophen overdoses. And it turns out the more common fear—that patients will become addicted to prescription drugs—is also overblown. In fact, the barrage of warnings we hear about prescription drugs obscures an important point—people saddled with severe chronic pain need these painkillers.
Says Gardner, “I think people who haven’t dealt with pain don’t really know what it’s like.”
“Don’t Get Hurt” is written and produced by Ted Balaker, who also hosts. The director of photography is Alex Manning, the field producer is Paul Detrick and the animation in the piece is from Hawk Jensen.
Approximately five minutes.
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Related video: When Cops Play Doctor: How the Drug War Punishes Pain Patients.
For Reason.com’s coverage of “opiophobia,” or overblown fears by the government about prescription painkillers, go here.
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151 Comments
Your government at work. Fixing what isn't broken again. Job justification perhaps?
Oh goody! Here we go again! Ban pain killers but push tranquilizers so doped folks will vote progressive. I think not!!!
Duh…
So…you know what the goal is here right? The Osama adminstration wants to support the legalization of Pot it's something they believe in. They plan to do this to push along their pot agenda. The targeted medications fit EXACTLY into the place where they feel pot would do a better job filling. Obama and his henchmen are a cancer that needs to be removed in November by the biggest electoral pasting in US history.
Why exactly is pot illegal? It's never killed anyone, unlike these other drugs that are regulated to keep folks from killing themselves. I suspect it is to keep people in pain from self-medicating with pot, and eliminating the need to spend money at the drug store.
Pain makes you crazy and desperate for relief. Believe me I know. I spent two years with mind bending pain after a botched surgery, and I was ready to kill somebody or even myself just to feel a little better. If they take away pain meds, I'm betting on some very desperate people showing up to give them a lesson in what pain management is all about.
What is the true cost of the FDA? How much pain and suffering and even death is caused due to this agency's bureaucratic jump through the hoops process delaying new drugs? And then after being cleared by the FDA how many drugs are pulled off the shelves because of problems? Drug companies are consistently being sued due to possible problems with their drugs which forces them to take every precaution they can; so what is the purpose of the FDA? It's time for FDA to be restructured if not ended.
^55555555555 +1000
Pot should be used for medical reasons. I had an uncle who was going through chemo and the only thing that could help keep the food and liquid down was pot. Nothing else worked for him.
Jobs and economy have gone to hell and all the government does is get more and more into my personal life. Let me have the pain killer so the only thing killed is the pain!
Gosh, I hope you are right. Cannabis, especially when ingested as concentrated oil. is one of the most naturally medicinal and life-saving substances on the planet. It is a crime against humanity to keep this ANCIENT medicine from people who would much rather use a natural, healthy alternative to the cocktail of chemicals they are forced to ingest instead. A good friend and upstanding citizen suffers from debilitating Multiple Sclerosis. He has to break the law and risk JAIL TIME because the best treatment he has come across is Cannabis. How is that a good thing? Why should anyone be jailed for using a natural weed that grows out of the ground, and has been cultivated for spiritual, medicinal, and recreational use for over 4,000 years? Why do you think every human being is born with Cannabinoid Receptors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor... in their cels, just waiting for THC to arrive in the system?
Why don't you google "Cannabinoids cure cancer" and read up on the subject.
Gosh, I hope you are right. Cannabis, especially when ingested as concentrated oil. is one of the most naturally medicinal and life-saving substances on the planet. It is a crime against humanity to keep this ANCIENT medicine from people who would much rather use a natural, healthy alternative to the cocktail of chemicals they are forced to ingest instead. A good friend and upstanding citizen suffers from debilitating Multiple Sclerosis. He has to break the law and risk JAIL TIME because the best treatment he has come across is Cannabis. How is that a good thing? Why should anyone be jailed for using a natural weed that grows out of the ground, and has been cultivated for spiritual, medicinal, and recreational use for over 4,000 years? Why do you think every human being is born with Cannabinoid Receptors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabinoid_receptor... in their cels, just waiting for THC to arrive in the system?
Why don't you google "Cannabinoids cure cancer" and read up on the subject.
but…..but….but……bozo said the elderly lady should just take a pain pill, instead of having a pacemaker
installed…….remember???
well, well…we FINALLY agree on something..:)
They better think twice, as soon as more people sober up there will be little chance they will have the power they do now.
DTOM!
http://RightWingStuff.com
Been there, done that! Chemo is a bitch!!
but…..but….but……bozo said the elderly lady should just take a pain pill, instead of having a pacemaker
installed………remember???
I can't believe it, but I agree with you too mik!
sorry about the double guys, first time I've experienced delayed appearance on this site.
Better living through chemicals and pharmaceuticals is not an answer.
While I understand the material in the video, the entire premise is flawed. That in and of itself is representative of what is wrong with our health care system; it treats the pain and masks it, instead of treating the symptom and root causes.
By the time the Government gets through with this Health care fiasco, we are ALL going to need Oxycontin, and be eternally hooked on "Hillbilly Heroin"……….
Pot is one thing, but heroin is another beast entirely. I am cool with legalizing pot because if you are a pothead, then you are WAY less likely to rob or kill someone for a fix. Instead, you smoke a J and watch cartoons. Not hurting anyone. Heroin will turn you into a junkie whose only goal is to get more smack. We need less of those folks, not more.
There is no need to look for conspiracies here. It is just the the dumb government doing what dumb government always does, grabbing more control, doing more harm in the name of doing good. They probably would like to keep pot illegal while also banning these pain killers.
Same thing with AIDS patients. I met an 82 year old man with RA so bad his hands looked like claws. It caused him ridiculous amounts of pain, but when he smoked, he felt way batter, and gained some functionality with his hands (due to the lack of pain). Limited accessibility would be ok for me, but the punishment would be swift and severe for anyone giving or selling it to kids.
Hell, I even agree with him.
"America’s first marijuana law was enacted at Jamestown Colony, Virginia in 1619. It was a law “ordering” all farmers to grow Indian hempseed. There were several other “must grow” laws over the next 200 years (you could be jailed for not growing hemp during times of shortage in Virginia between 1763 and 1767), and during most of that time, hemp was legal tender (you could even pay your taxes with hemp — try that today!) Hemp was such a critical crop for a number of purposes (including essential war requirements – rope, etc.) that the government went out of its way to encourage growth."
Unfortunately, things starting heading downhill around the early 1900's.
"In 1930, a new division in the Treasury Department was established — the Federal Bureau of Narcotics — and Harry J. Anslinger was named director. This, if anything, marked the beginning of the all-out war against marijuana." Some quotes widely to Anslinger include:
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”
“…the primary reason to outlaw marijuana is its effect on the degenerate races.”
“Marijuana is an addictive drug which produces in its users insanity, criminality, and death.”
“Reefer makes darkies think they’re as good as white men.”
“Marihuana leads to pacifism and communist brainwashing”
“You smoke a joint and you’re likely to kill your brother.”
“Marijuana is the most violence-causing drug in the history of mankind.”
In summary, individual states passed anti marijuana laws which were racially biased in nature- with Mexican immigrant workers being targeted.
Personally, it is because alcohol can be regulated, and taxed. That is the only reason the government is involved, the liquor tax revenue.
If you think government is intrusive now, just imagine how they would be if pot was lrgal, and they had Revenue agents going door to door, trying to assess and tax Granny's pot plants. It would be a disaster. If the government could figure how to control it, and TAX it, it would be immediately legalized……
Dare I say that I agree with you here?!!
I went to college with the goal of becoming an addiction treatment counselor … I ended up in Graphic Design because I eventually came to the conclusion that the entire issue of addiction is grossly overblown in our culture (and most of psychiatry is no better than phrenology or witch-doctoring).
First off, most of what we call "addiction" is simply a combination of lack of character blended with lack of self control. Most of the people we call "addicts" are just whiny schmucks that need to grow the hell up and take responsibility for their own actions.
TRUE addicts … people who's bodies have developed a biological and chemical dependency on drugs are rare, and even most of those people can still function well enough to keep them from being a drain on society. I have an old friend that has been a heroin addict for the last 20 years and he's NEVER been in trouble with the law and has ALWAYS maintained gainful employment (I'm not going to argue that his life wouldn't be better without the drug, but he's not "covered in his own vomit and feces in a back alley" every night).
We've empowered government to take MASSIVE swaths of our liberty and treasure in order to protect us from ourselves and the boogieman of "addiction" and frankly we've done significantly more damage to our culture and society than if we just let the self destructive members of our society just self destruct.
We've coddled losers that could solve their own problems if they were allowed to hit bottom and see the light (yes some will die in the process, but its basically by their own hand), thus we keep these people in a permanent state of hovering just above the bottom where they suck off resources, drag their loved ones through prolonged torment and they never actually get better.
The key problem with all progressives (left or right) is that they believe that government, through force of law, can "perfect man" that they can "make us better creatures". Only God can do that … and when you elevate government to the level of God it can only end in mass death, suffering and tyranny (regardless of how well intentioned you are).
Man made Booze/Chemicals
GOD made Grass
Who do you trust?
………"I eventually came to the conclusion that the entire issue of addiction is grossly overblown in our culture (and most of psychiatry is no better than phrenology or witch-doctoring)."
FINALLY! It's about time somebody told the damn truth.
"We've coddled losers that could solve their own problems if they were allowed to hit bottom and see the light (yes some will die in the process, but its basically by their own hand), thus we keep these people in a permanent state of hovering just above the bottom where they suck off resources, drag their loved ones through prolonged torment and they never actually get better."
We could cleanse our entire society of a host of social ills within one generation, if we provided drugs free choice to those that would partake………….
I agree with you twice in one week! Personally I'd like to turn pot over to the ATF and let governments natural ability to screw things up go to work!
Drug dealing is one of the most hard core capitalistic businesses out there. If you really want to destroy the drug trade, kill the profits. If clinics would be licensed to proscribe heroin, crack, etc. to druggies at very low cost. but still keep the penalties for illeagal sales of hard drugs extremely severe, the profit would be gone from the business. I would bet that the drug usage problem would disappear after a few years.
I don't think this would happen, as I suspect that there are a number of politicians "on the take" from the drug dealers. With our current system the high profits, and stiff penalties benifit only the biggest cartels. It's in the Cartels best interests to keep the system as it stands.
I think there is a strong case for legalizing all recreational drugs under certain conditions.
1. Eliminate all funding for the "war on drugs"
2. Eliminate the drug cartels
3. Eliminate a huge portion of the prison population
4. Competitive pricing/quality control
5. Safer purchasing environment
Conditions:
1. Severe penalty for selling to minors and death sentence for selling to anyone under 17.
2. All taxes go to local (none to feds) schools, law enforcement, fire departments and drug rehab programs
3. Zero tolerance for driving under influence
4. Sales only by licensed establishments- permanent loss of licenses (including liquor, beer, etc.) for selling to minors.
I am open to civil debate.
Interesting… as I recall, it was the FDA who demanded that the acetaminophen or aspirin be put into the pills in the first place to reduce their attractiveness as an abuse narcotic or street source for pure oxycodone.
“There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the US, and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos, and entertainers. Their Satanic music, jazz, and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana causes white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers, and any others.”
I won't touch that paragraph with a ten foot pole……..
"The war on drugs"?
We are winning that, just like the War on Terror, and the War on Poverty, aren't we?
The only war government has won since the Second World War, is the war that it has waged on US.
"Panel members warn that some Americans ingest too much acetaminophen, and overdoses can lead to liver damage, even death."
What idiot(s) at the FDA decided that the doctors or pharmacists were not providing the appropriate warnings. These warnings include recommending the use of naproxen instead of acetaminophen.
Well said…
Then I should probably shut up while I'm ahead.
Getting sicker and sicker by the day!
Agreed should have been made legal years ago.
Even I agree with him. I guess Washington DC (hell) has frozen over despite global warming.
“When there’s nothing but
painliberals, there’s no reason to live,” says Gardner. “There were times where the only way I could stay sane and civil was becauseI could take painkillersof Andrew Breitbart's websites.”Sorry, felt a little editing would portray how I sometimes feel.
Yes. You probably should……….
The drug usage problem won't disappear as the results of Holland going this route.
Agreed. Legalization is politically impossible (IMHO) but DE-criminalization can happen at the state and local level. A good idea would be to let city governments regulate it it. Say your joe six pack walking down the street blowing smoke in peoples faces. City ordinance says thats a no no. 10$ fine. Next time it doubles 20$ – 40$- 80$ etc. (if its Beverly hills start it at 1000$ etc) Pretty much like public drunkenness.
Simple possession of pot is swamping the court system and a drain on tax payer monies. If the politicians were smart (at the state lvl) they could turn it around and generate revenue double quick.
Marijuana is a plant and grows in every country on earth. No added chemicals required for the final product. Its very hubris of the political class to think they can legislate it away and down right stupid to not see the revenue it could generate. *shrug*.
Man made grass more potent!!
Another ignorant ideologue heard from. As you have such an extensive knowledge of opiates and pain management techniques, please post your non-narcotic treatment plans for the "root cause" of spinal pain resulting from 19 crushed vertebra. After 15 spinal reconstructions, my neurosurgeons and I seem to have missed your alternative solutions during our medical education. I guess we were too busy in medical school to get our pharmaceutical education from entertainment television, as you have apparently done.
Post again after you live with chronic severe pain syndrome, until then please stop inflicting your ignorance on the general public as some might actually believe your foolishness. Your last paragraph was accurate, you should have stuck with that.
As one of those retired disabled vets, I know about living with pain. I would suggest using mental pain against the mental midgets who came up with this idea instead of the physical method. Psychological warfare, aka torture to the progressives, is much more effective.
I see it hasn't affected your ability to type.
Take a handful of painkillers and wash them down with Jack Daniels. You'll be ok in the morning.
Meddling regressive control freaks cause more pain and kill more people than anything. I don't watch MSM TV so I didn't know this push was on or how they were doing it. These dumbasses always want to ban things while legalizing what our 'idiot' [sarc] grandparents shunned.
I tell you this … people who abuse any drugs and succumb to addiction do so by choice. Is it a choice we regret? Always, but a choice nonetheless. We 'get off' on neurotransmitter / synaptic modification. Most of the abuse by Rx drugs is done by those who chose poly-substance abuse and these pills are often mixed with heroin or washed down by vodka, or just to help the down after a tweak binge. Come on, Libs… a small number of deaths by abusers is nothing when weighed against the benefits and increase in quality of life for millions.
What can be a blessing, we often turn into a curse. That's free will.
I agree with your supposition however in some cases (like mine) there is no treatment available for the root cause. There is a KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) solution, take the acetaminophen out of the pill however they will have to find another filler as the amount of actual pain med is small.
Currently doctors and pharmacists ensure that the patient is informed about the dangers of taking too much acetaminophen and recommend other over-the-counter meds like naproxen, ibuprofen, etc. My docs have been telling me about the acetaminophen overdose problem since the 90s.
Agree, as long as we also allow the consequences to occur also. Like Z said, people need to be free to fail or they will never learn.
Thank you for your service…. We love our vets and with deep gratitude. The vets in this country will PLAY A VERY KEY ROLE this November in unseating these vicious military hating leftists that have infiltrated this country. I think you are right about mental pain….similar to what we have endured for decades from these lying heartless bastards.
I place most of the blame on progressives in both parties. Funny thing, neither party has worked to bring "social justice" (a little progressive lingo so they understand) for the military members. My disability from the VA is taken out of my retirement from the AF, meanwhile all other federal employees receive both.
Didn't Obama say awhile back maybe Grandma should have just taken the pain killer instead of haveing the pacemaker put in?? Next thing he will say is your not getting the pacemaker and your not getting the pair killer either. Obama hates America, he hates the elderly, is there anything he doesn't hate? God help him on judgement day, since he doesn't believe in God he is not worried!
First, I would suggest not taking it personal. I don't and have been dealing with chronic pain for over 12 years.
Second, there are newer treatments available for thoracic spinal problems including pain canceling devices similar in action to noise canceling headsets. Unfortunately, they are not available for neck.
Third, I think his biggest problem is with the way pain killers have been used in general by society whether for adults or children. Instead of allowing lower levels of pain (and fever) to run their course, we as a society insist on removing any discomfort which builds drug tolerance creating bigger problems later when real pain relief is needed.
Perhaps I am wrong but I have seen it happen too often.
Wrong answer as alcohol is contra-indicated with narcotics, similar to the article mentioned acetaminophen.
Look guys… I have Syringomyelia and there are times when I NEED to have pain killers… For you that don't know SM is a growth on the spinal cord that causes all kinds of hell for the person that has it… YES! it is rare but don't toss those of use that have it aside… Imagine having pain that won't allow you to even get out of bed in the morning… or not being able to use any limbs for one day to the next… You need to learn what hell is all about… Sure there are 'only' a few thousand of us in North America with this condition but… we are a few that need releif when we need it…Get with the program!!!
Vince Werber
Actually it is not a matter of trust, it is a matter of which God do you follow. God made fruits and grains which ferment. God also provided chemicals like that found in grass, poppies, etc. God also allows the consequences to occur when these items are used, both good and bad. Too much of a good thing is bad when not used appropriately whether we are talking pain meds, food, etc.
The great thing about our country is that we have the freedom to experience failure, gain knowledge, etc. through our God given right to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness (aka the Greek virtues of living good life).
No shiite!!! All actions (choices) have consequences (good and bad) and it is about time the gov't gets out of the consequence amelioration business (aka social programs) and stick to the limits of the Constitution!!!
Looks like we may have found some common ground.
They may not even have to ban them. Doctors are getting so paranoid of getting in trouble with the FDA that many of them are bowing out of prescribing them. It's not something you tend to worry about too much until you or a loved one are the one in pain and you keep getting sent from doctor to doctor to try to get your chronic pain treated.
Of course there are those who take advantage and those who get addicted, but is it worth forcing millions of people to live with constant pain to over enforce the prescription of or ban the use of pain relievers that work?
Remember the last time you were nauseated and you just wanted so badly to feel normal? You were just counting the minutes waiting for it to end and knowing that the nausea wouldn't last forever. Well chronic pain is like having that nausea, but knowing it will never end, that all day everyday and all night every night you will have to endure it. Taking away something that gives people a little relief from the constant gnawing, wearing, miserable pain is a good thing, not a bad one.
God made tobacco to, but I heard it you get cancer and die when you smoke it.
God made water, but you can still drown.
So on and so forth.
I agree. It's just plain stupid not to allow people with legitimate medical needs to have access to something that will help them, just because some people abuse the substance, whether it's pain killers or marijuana.
Re "Third" you addressed the real problem. This most often happens in states that allow nonsensical malpractice suits. Don't get a pill and sue the doctor for $10 or $20 K (or maybe hit a home run) in a quick nuisance settlement from the insurance carrier. That is what I see happen too often.
Why are the drug companies allowed to advertise prescription drugs to the general public. The public then demand inappropriate drugs from their doc, and sue if the doc has the stones to say NO!
Look, i'm not going to get into a debate on what effects heroine will have on a person, or if legalizing it will create more addicts. What I do know is that when I saw people strung out on heroine, it was enough to keep me away from the stuff. I will also concede that pot is in a way lower class than heroine.
All i'll say is that in an IDEAL world, drugs would be legal because we would have citizens responsible enough to make the right choices. Unfortunately, personal responsibility and moderation are rare commodities.
My point is that not being able to tax something isn't really a good reason to make it illegal. I mean, come on… its a plant.
Totally in agreement with you.
Are you sure they did not mention the frugs getting into the environment via the sewage plants??Maybe thay just didn't mention it…this time.
Pot is illegal because it keeps lots of police officers employed, judges, lawyers, prison guards, so on and so forth.
It was a mistake of the Reagan Administration but some on the right like to control personal behavior and the left likes all the jobs it creates.
I am in pain 24/7. I have been taking a generic form of percocet for 3 years. Although I can take one every 4 hours and my prescription is for 120 pills per month, I only take 1 or 2 a day (maybe 3 on an exceptionally bad day) because I am adamant I do not want to become addicted. So take one only when the tears start from the pain. Therefore, a prescription lasts me about 2 1/2 months.
I am on medicare and pay for an advantage plan. On top of having paid into medicare for many years, and my 2 husbands paid in for many years (both deceased) but never used it, my medicare premiums are over $1500/yr. Imagine my surprise when my $7 copay went to $40 this month. When I questioned Humana, they said the GENERIC brand I get is NON-PREFERRED. This means, Humana would PREFER I not use it. They want me to take another kind of med which is not as effective and would require me to take more. This by government guideline!!!!
So, are the Feds banning my pain med? YOU DAMN BETCHA THEY ARE!!!!!!!!!!!
I read the "The FDA panel" link and learned that the supposed reason for this is because those prescriptions contain acetaminophen (basically, Tylenol), an over the counter drug that supposedly harms the liver in high doses. No mention at all of the fact that these meds contain narcotics. I am simply pointing out the arm twisting deception involved here. I am all in favor of pain relief by any means possible, especially narcotics.
All I can do is hope for the day when Big Gov and the Dems wake up and realize that you just can't legislate against stupid. Some folks will become addicted, some won't. Some will OD, most won't. The arrogance of government has once again shown itself in trying to protect us from ourselves. Most of us are responsible, read labels, listen to medical advice and warnings. Those that don't probably won't know the drugs are banned and will find something else to screw up their lives. Laws only protect the lawful. Someday, maybe government will understand personal responsibility.
While im not saying the government is the solution I do know that strong painkillers are WAAAY too easy to get for you to call the situation "not broken"
did anything at all suggest pushing tranqs? I mean if you're tryingto come up with just some "wit" to imply progressives are druggies, thats cool, but it hardly helps discourse around here.
2 Flame,……….the answer may be 'wrong' for the health of the poster, however I believe it
was stated as intended.
WOW, Zundfolge,…………Love it………..Psychiatry / witch-doctoring,……..yes, yes,yes….you're good, real
good, come back & share again. Have a daughter who was on the same career track as you. She
came to believe most of the psychiatrists she encountered were self-medicating.
"Then take out the acetaminophen and just provide the opiates"
Acetaminophen amplifies the effect of opiates so you need less of them.
If aspirin was invented today I doubt that it would get FDA approval.
So pot has never killed anyone? Have you ever seen a brain scan of someone that has been on pot for 3 years? Just curious.
Excellent point! Not many people are aware of this.
No, have you? I have known lots of folks who smoked for a lot longer than three years who are still happy and healthy. Also, NORML has a $10 million reward for the first person who can prove that someone died from smoking pot. So if you have some proof you should go collect that check.
I don't know why pot is illegal…. but I would like someone to make the case on why alcohol is legal, but pot isn't. I can't think of a legitimate and intellectually honest reason.
I think consenting adults should be able to engage in whatever behavior they want, so long as they don't interfere with another person's right to pursue their own interests…. so I think all drugs should be legal, but I'm also willing to step over the heroine addict laying in the street.
My wife was in a terrible car accident and had her back broken in 3 places, her hip broken and her neck. She now has a morophine pump inplant and takes vicodin to take the edge off the remainig pain. I've seen her w/o these
medical devises and meds and w/o them she'd be in a nursing home.
[...] more here: » Reason.tv: Will The Feds Ban Your Pain Meds? – Big Government Share and [...]
[...] from: » Reason.tv: Will The Feds Ban Your Pain Meds? – Big Government Share and [...]
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My mother has Lupus and Scleroderma (hardening of the skin and organs; inside and out). She had a bad episode last year, where she said her hands felt as though they were being held over a fire. After chemotherapy, she is now in remission. She was taking so many painkillers (no one knows how many because she had been stockpiling and then sneaking them, out of desperation), we all thought she would be a drug addict for sure- if she even survived at all. Well, she is fine. No addiction. Was not an issue. But I know for certain that she would have taken her own life without the pain meds. She was near doing so WITH the drugs!!!!
The "Pain Panel" at the FDA needs to do more research, and I have the best, and most immediate solution: beat the hell out of each and every one of them every other day, and give them no access to pain medicine. Flog them with bullwhips, but no Tylenol for them. We don't want to hurt their livers. Subject them to severe burns, but no narcotics! they might get addicted. Send them off to war, and when they come back with wounds that never heal, pat them on the back and tell them "No drugs for you".
Do I sound harsh? Mean? Sadistic? Sure I do, and I bet I now qualify for a high paying job on a FDA Pain Panel. I'll bet they can get all the drugs they want.
Dittos to that! I am so sick of "Barrie" and his gang–(Dirty Harry, Nancy, The kinda "red" advisers) taking every measure they can think of to control the people of the USA. Personally I like my freedom & do not want to be controlled by Big Government. Banning Pain killers is more of the control issue. It really makes me angry due to the fact that I have chronic pain from an auto accident 10 yrs ago. Believe me I know what pain is and this bs about the pain killers having too much APAP in them- so Ban them- is a crock! Look it up–the max of APAP is 4grams in a 24hr period–that 4000mg of tylenol–who would even think about taking that much Tylenol! And I
really feel bad for the grandma who needed a pace maker because if the Health Care Reform passes, anyone over 55 years old will be told exactly what they told grandma–take a OTC pain med because you are too old for us to spend our $s to help you. We Have To Stand Up!
I'm sorry to be sounding like a radical—But it felt so good to write it—now after all of this typing I'm going to take my Percocet 10-325mg & lie down.
<standing ovation> this has to be the most eloquent, truthful, and APT explanation of chronic pain that i've ever read.
and with doctors becoming gun shy in prescribing pain medications, they now have "pain management" doctors/clinics, etc. if ever you wanted to know what a nanny state would feel like…attend a pain management clinic for your medications. its humiliating, to say the least….rage inducing to say the most.
I have cancer. It's been diagnosed and 2nd and 3rd opinions offered: all say it is terminal cancer that will kill me, but that they can postpone that death for some 5-8 years with a particular drug regimen. Both the drugs in the treatment regimen and the cancer cause me enormous pain and that pain would be 24/7 until I die. So three different doctors (in two different states) have prescribed morphine sulfate for me. I am dependent on it (that is, I do NOT get "high" from it, but I am at a point where suddenly NOT taking it could result in my death). So who is the FDA to say I shouldn't be able to get a prescription pain killer (prescribed by Oncologists) that has enabled me to endure the treatments and LIVE and may do so for another 3 years (I've been taking the medications and the morphine for almost 5 years now) or less?
banner day mik I never thought we would agree on anything : )
withdrawing from Opiates is NOT life threatening. Uncomfortable / hellish…yes. But suddenly stopping your pain meds will not kill you.
Acetaminophen is the main ingredient in Tylenol. So does that mean that this ban could shut down the manufacturer of Tylenol? Also, some doctor tell patients with high blood pressure to take Acetaminophen instead of the main ingredient in Advil, as it does cause the rise in Blood pressure that Advil can. Didn't the FDA think about that?
Yes, I have seen brain SPECTs after different drug usage. I was most curious about the "perfectly safe" pot smokers brain. NORML also uses 1920's research that true researchers have never heard of. I'm just sayin… Thanks for the info but I did not say they died. I asked if you had seen the brain scan of a pot smoker? Swiss Cheese.
If it were legalized, the entire economic structure of pot use would change, I suspect. For example, with alcohol, home wine and beer-making for personal use isn't taxed or regulated. I don't see why home-grown pot should be, either.
As for heroin and other hard drugs, if they were cheap, legal and easily available, the junkies looking for a fix would be far less likely to engage in risky criminal behavior to support their habit. The problem for junkies isn't that heroin isn't easily available, it's that it's not cheap or legal, increasing the cost-benefit ratio of risky behavior to obtain it.
As for personal responsibility, that's the last piece of the puzzle. For a legalization scheme to work, the government has to stop rewarding people for failure. I'm all for letting any consenting adult shoot up all the heroin he can afford — so long as he goes and ruins his life on his own terms, not ending up in government funded treatment and support programs, where, ultimately, the rest of society will have to bear the burden for his bad decisions.
Until we re-establish voluntary charitable organizations as the front-line provider of welfare and charity, I can't see a widespread legalization scheme being socially acceptable (because voluntary charities and their donors have the freedom to withhold their money and services in cases where it clearly isn't doing any good).
I'd support laws for distributing these drugs to minors to be crushingly severe — as that's what I think most adults and parents are really concerned about, these drugs making their way to their kids (as if kids who are so inclined aren't perfectly able to get hold of these drugs now).
I have been on pain meds over ten years and they have saved my life. I hate them because I have to take them and the side effects are bad but I would have killed myself years ago without them. They are a must and do not need to be banned. I do support legal Medical Marijuana. I started smoking MM about one year ago and I do not have to take pain meds as often as before but there is no way I can stop these drugs after ten years or even want to go back to living in hell. MM is good for short term but when you suffer 24/7 it is just a release for a couple of hours. Say no to Obama if he wants to get rid of our pain meds. I guess we will not have to worry about giving old people a pain pill at the end of life instead we let them die with as much pain as they can stand.
I think that is an argument for tort reform, not advertising reform.
There's no legitimate reason in a free society why drug companies should not be allowed to market their wares directly to the public, so long as the information they present is accurate. It's the public responsibility to make wise choices with that information. A thriving society cannot be organized around the principle that people are stupid and need to be protected from themselves and absolved from dealing with the consequences of their bad decisions.
WE agree 100%. If MM is controlled like pain meds it will work. If you are caught selling your meds to kids you go to jail for 5 years min. If you are caught selling your MM to anyone besides kids you get 1 year. Time to get serious if you want results without abuse.
Excellent, your post reminds me of one of the more conservative-spirited movies of recent times, "Serenity":
River Tam (speaking about the Alliance): "People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome."
…
Malcolm Reynolds: "Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, ten, they’ll swing back to the belief that they can make people…better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave."
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